GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa University women's wrestling squad will return to competitive action with a challenging weekend in Lebanon, Illinois.
 
Head Coach Travis Mercado's fourth-ranked Mavericks, who have been off since the York Open on Jan. 18, will take on top-ranked McKendree in a Friday night dual meet in the Bearcats' Harry M. Statham Sports Center.  Action will begin at 7 p.m. (CST).  They will then remain in western Illinois for the Bearcat Open on Saturday, which will be held in the Melvin Price Convocation Center, starting at 9 a.m. CST.
 
RE-MATCH
 
Friday's dual with the nation's top-ranked Bearcats will be a re-match of a Jan. 11 encounter during the semifinal round of the NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals in Louisville, Kentucky.  The Bearcats won that dual 33-7 en-route to the NWCA title on criteria over Simon Fraser.
 
The Mavericks, who were competing in their first national duals in just their second year as a program ended up fourth in that tournament.
 
The Mavericks are a solid 7-3 in duals this season while the Bearcats will enter Friday night's match-up with a 3-0 mark.  All of their previous duals were in Louisville.
 
RANKING SHOWDOWNS
 
In addition to the team ranking match-up, Friday's dual will also feature numerous head-to-head battles between nationally ranked wrestlers.
 
The Mavericks have six nationally-ranked wrestlers in the first seven weight classes, four of whom are slated to compete against nationally-ranked Bearcats according to the probable lineups announced by Mercado and his Bearcat counterpart Sam Schmitz.
 
The fireworks will come quick as CMU's Jennesis Martinez, ranked third at 101 pounds, is slated to take on No. 2 Pauline Granados.
 
At 136 pounds, top-ranked Emma Bruntil of McKendree will go against CMU's fourth-ranked Dalia Garibay.  A No. 3 vs. No. 5 match-up between Alara Boyd of McKendree and CMU's Alma Mendoza is also on the card at 143 pounds while CMU's fourth-ranked Marissa Gallegos is expected to wrestle against McKendree's Peyton Stroud at 123 pounds.  Stroud is currently ranked seventh in the country at 130 pounds.
 
CMU's other nationally-ranked wrestlers are Anja Tschohl and Sierra Brown Ton.  They currently sit fifth at 116 and 130 pounds respectively, and are slated to face unranked Bearcat opponents.  McKendree also has the fifth-ranked 109-pounder in Carly Valleroy and no less than three second-ranked wrestlers in the upper weight classes of their loaded lineup.  Those are Alexandria Glaude (155), Korinahe Bullock (170) and Sydnee Kimber (191).
 
TOUGH OPEN
 
The competition will not get much easier on Saturday as the Bearcats have a host of talented teams coming in for their annual open.  Including CMU and McKendree, six of the top-8 teams in the most recent NWCA NCAA Tournament Team rankings are expected to compete.
 
That list includes co-No. 1 Simon Fraser, No. 3 King, No. 5 Emmanuel, No. 7 Wisconsin-Stevens Point and No. 8 North Central (Ill.).  Several teams in the NAIA Top 20 Coaches' Poll are also slated to gather in Lebanon.
 
LOOKING FOR 20 & 10
 
Marissa Gallegos currently leads the Mavericks with 19 wins and her stellar 19-3 individual record.  With just one win, she would become CMU's fourth 20-match winner in a single season joining Sierra Brown Ton (27), Alma Mendoza (24) and Carson Pipher from last year's inaugural team. 
 
Gallegos, a redshirt freshman, is also an impressive 9-1 in dual meets this season and has racked up a team-high 35 dual points for the Mavs this season.  Her nine dual meet wins are already a single-season school-record.  Brown Ton and Pipher were both 7-1 in duals last year.  Mendoza is 8-2 duals this year.
 
NATIONAL TEAM COACH
 
Second-year Maverick head coach Travis Mercado was recently named as the head coach for the USA Wrestling Women's Freestyle Junior National Team for the upcoming 2020 Junior Pan American Games.  He will guide Team USA into action from July 10-12 in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.
 
Mercado is no stranger to coaching at the international level. In 2015, he was selected to coach a Cadet (ages 15-17) National Team delegation at the Lady Klippan Tournament in Klippan, Sweden. A year later he was selected as a coach for the Junior National Team at the Junior Pan American Games in Barinas, Venezuela.
 
As a part of his selection, he will be attending camps this summer at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to prepare the athletes for the Junior Pan American Games.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
 
The Mavericks will have one final tune-up in preparation for the Women's National Collegiate Championship as they will head to Fremont, Nebraska for Midland's Lady Warrior Open on Feb. 22.    The national tournament will be held Mar. 6-7 in Adrian, Michigan.