GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After getting off to a strong start at the Intermountain Shootout earlier this month, the Colorado Mesa University Maverick swimming and diving teams will return to the pool this weekend hosting a pair of women's quadrangular and men's triangular meets in the El Pomar Natatorium.
 
The Mavericks will host the men and women from both Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rival Colorado School of Mines as well as the Western Colorado University women.
 
Friday's 13-event meet, including some rarely contested 300-yard events, will begin at 5 p.m.  Saturday's 16-event format meet will commence at 10 a.m.
 
Live results can be accessed at the link above or via MeetMobile and a live stream (natural sound only) of the swimming events can be found on the RMAC Network.
 
Meet Formats
 
Each day will be considered as a separate meet and team scores will kept in a dual-meet format that will see each team have a head-to-head score against each other opponent.  Points in each dual will be distributed on a 9-4-3-2-1 basis in individual events with a maximum of three scores per team.  The relay points will be given out on an 11-4-2 basis in each dual with only the "A" and "B" relays eligible to score.
 
One and 3-meter diving competitions will also be contested on both days and will be held concurrently with the swimming events in a 6-dive format.
 
Women's teams have been limited to four team scoring entries in the individual events while the men's teams have a limit of five team-scoring entries.  Some additional exhibition heats will also be contested in the shorter events to allow for some swimmers to get additional opportunities to compete.
 
Individual swimmers are limited to three scoring events on Friday and to four scoring events, including a maximum of three individual events in Saturday's competition.
 
Friday's meet will include the rarely contested 300-yard backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly events while many of those swimmers will contest the more standard 100 and 200-yard distances on Saturday.
 
A complete list of events and tentative psych sheets can be accessed at the links above.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks got off to a fast start recording five NCAA Division II Championship provisional qualifying times while winning four events and claiming 23 top-3 finishes during the Intermountain Shootout on Oct. 1-2.  The large meet included nine women's teams, including five from the Division I level, and five men's squads, including two from the Division I ranks.
 
The Maverick men went 3-1 in head-to-head duals claiming their first ever victory over Air Force in hard-fought 206-202 fashion.  That dual came down to the final event.  The Mavericks also crushed RMAC opponent Adams State (342-47) and the CMU Club Team (337-36).
 
The Maverick women, who went 4-4, also claimed their first Division I win in nearly five years more than doubling up former RMAC rival Dixie State, 277-123 while cruising past RMAC foes CSU Pueblo (335-67) and Adams State (354-41).
 
RMAC Dominance
 
The Maverick teams have won the last three RMAC Championship titles and also enter this weekend with long-standing RMAC dual-meet winning streaks that they will attempt to extend.
 
After claiming the comfortable wins over Adams State and CSU Pueblo during the Intermountain Shootout, the Maverick women have now won 27 consecutive RMAC duals dating back more than five years to Jan. 22, 2016.  They will have a chance to extend that streak to as many as 31 this weekend if they can sweep Mines and Western on both days.
 
Meanwhile, the CMU men, who have fewer conference foes to swim against, have now won nine straight RMAC duals since the start of the 2016-17 campaign and could extend the streak to 11 should the be able to sweep Mines.
 
Top of the polls
 
Both Maverick squads were picked first in their respective RMAC Preseason Coaches' Polls, which were announced on the morning of Oct. 1, hours before the Mavs began their season with the 2-day Intermountain Shootout. 
 
The Maverick women, who set a RMAC Championship margin of victory record of 566 ½ points at the 2021 conference meet, received all six possible first place votes to top the 7-team poll with 36 points.  CMU's men received all three possible first place votes to take top billing in the 4-team poll with nine points.
 
Coaches each ranked their opposition (1-6 for women, 1-3 men) without voting for their own squad.
 
Mines was picked second in the women's poll with 31 points and received CMU Coach Mickey Wender's first place vote after taking second at last year's RMAC Championships.  Western was picked fourth in the poll with 24 points.
 
On the men's side, Mines and Oklahoma Christian were tied for second in the poll with six points.
 
In 2021, the Maverick men won 17 of the 22 contested events, including all five relays to win the 5-team RMAC Championships with a score of 1,115 ½ points, 304 more than Mines.
 
National Top 10
 
Earlier on Thursday, both Maverick squads were tabbed in the nation's top 10, according to the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Division II Preseason Poll.  The voting committee, comprised of Division II coaches and select media outlets, attempts ranks the top 25 teams in the nation based on dual meet strength.
 
The Maverick men received 107 points in the poll and are one of three RMAC teams in the top 25 with Oklahoma Christian coming in at the No. 18 spot and Mines in the No. 22 spot.  Indianapolis edged defending national champion Queens by one point (146-145) to top the poll while Lindenwood, McKendree and Grand Valley State round out the top five.
 
CMU's women received 103 points in the poll and are ranked ninth.  Indianapolis also took top billing in the poll with 148 points with Wingate and defending national champion Queens checking in second and third, respectively.  Nova Southeastern and Lindenwood round out the top 5.
 
Mines is ranked 23^rd as the only other ranked RMAC women's team.  Oklahoma Christian did receive one No. 25 vote.
 
Returning All-Americans
 
After claiming all-time program-best finishes of 11^th (men) and 12^th (women) at the 2021 NCAA Division II National Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, the Mavericks appear to be quite strong once again this season with the return of 17 athletes, who have previous earned all-America honors in 2021 and/or prior seasons.
 
The list of returning all-Americans men includes diving selections Tanner Belliston and Isaiah Cheeks, as well as swimming standouts Lane Austin, Felipe D'Orsi, Mahmoud Elgayar, Logan Ellis and Matheus Laperriere.
 
The CMU women are even deeper with the return of all-Americans Logan Anderson, Lily Borgenheimer, Davy Brown, Sarah Fillerup, Katerina Matoskova, Robyn Naze, Lauren White and Kelsea Wright in the swimming events as well as Jolynn Harris and Ali Lange on the diving boards.  Harris finished second on the 1-meter board at last year's national championships while Borgenheimer and White each won six CSCAA All-America certificates last year to co-set the program record for honors in a single season.
 
Winners
 
As mentioned above, the Mavericks combined to win four events during the Intermountain Shootout.    Three of those victories came on the opening day of the season as 2021 RMAC Men's Freshman of the Year Ben Sampson (49.06) and 10-time women's all-American Lauren White (56.71) swept the 100-yard backstroke events.  Just minutes later Serbian newcomer Dejan Urbanek won the non-championship 50 butterfly in a blazing time of 22.68 seconds.
 
On the second day, Maverick record-holder and Olympic Trials qualifier Lily Borgenheimer won her specialty event, the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:20.19.
 
Early Qualifiers
 
The Mavs also combined to set five NCAA Division II Championship provisional or "B" Cut qualifying times during the Intermountain Shootout.  All of those time rank in the top three of the country in their respective events.
 
Lauren White set two of those, turning what is the national-leading altitude-adjusted time of 1:52.09 in the 200 free.  She also ranks second in the 200 back at 2:02.39.  Lily Borgenheimer ranks third in the 200 IM at 2:18.99.  On the men's side, Ben Sampson leads Division II in the 100 back at 48.96 while Dejan Urbanek sits third in the 200 fly at 1:49.29.
 
Other National Leaders
 
In addition to Sampson and White's leading times mentioned in the last blurb, the Mavericks also have Division II's fastest times in five other non-championship events.  Sampson leads the 50 back at 22.47 while Borgenheimer (30.42) and Mahmoud Elgayar (26.64) led the 50 breast rankings.  Anna Barjenbruch (26.96) and Urbanek (22.68) also lead the 50 fly rankings. 
 
Those events are not contested very often but were each held during the Intermountain Shootout.
 
Defending Champions a plenty
 
The Mavericks have a host of returning RMAC Champions who will look to defend their titles in February.  On the men's side, the Mavericks won 17 events in 2021 and return the champions in ten of  the 12 individual events they won to this year's team.  That list includes Gavin Anderson (1000 & 1650 free), Matheus Laperriere (200 Free, 500 Free, 200 IM), Ben Sampson (50 Free, 100 Back), Mahmoud Elgayar (100 Breast, 200 Breast) and Ben Simmons (400 IM).  The Maverick men also swept all five of the relay events last season and return 18 of the combined 20 legs from those quartets.
 
The Maverick women won a meet-high nine events last season, and like their male counterparts, swept the relay wins.  Lily Borgenheimer (200 IM, 200 Breast) and Lauren White (200 Free) return as do 12 combined legs from the winning relay teams.
 
Scouting the Opposition
 
Augustana
 
The Viking women are 3-3 thus far after going 3-1 against Northern Sun Intercollegiate rivals Sioux Falls and St. Cloud State in a 2-day tri-meet series last weekend in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  They are ranked 21^st in Thursday's CSCAA poll. 
 
Senior Taylor Beagle has been named as the NSIC's Swimmer of the Week in each of the last two weeks and won four events over two days last weekend.  She is a 2-time NSIC Swimmer of the Year.
 
The Vikings are sponsoring a men's team for the first time this season are still looking for their first dual win.  They are currently 0-4 after dropping two decision to St. Cloud State last weekend after falling to Division I South Dakota State and St. Thomas on the week prior.  Pedro Borin won the 100 fly in 50.50 seconds while Mason Kauffeld won the 100 breast in 1:00.32 last Friday.    Borin also won two events on Saturday while Kauffeld won the 200 breast on the second day against St. Cloud State.
 
Mines
 
The Oredigger men are ranked 22^nd in the CSCAA Division II Preseason Coaches' Poll which was released on Thursday.  The women are 23^rd.
 
The Oredigger men are 0-2 in duals this year after falling to Division I foes Air Force (190-86) and Omaha (143-141) in a triangular at Air Force last Friday.  Scott Reader won the 1000 free by three seconds in 10:20.57.  They also went 2-3-4 in the 200 breast.
 
The Mines women will bring a 1-3 mark into the weekend after competing in the same Air Force triangular on Friday and then turning around to host Colorado State and Mary (N.D.) last Saturday.  They claimed a 111-59 win over Mary as Jorie Selig posted the RMAC's top 50 free time thus far to take second in 24.35 seconds.  Numerous Oredigger women turned in third place efforts during the Air Force triangular.
 
Western Colorado
 
The Mountaineers will bring a perfect 2-0 overall and conference record into the El Pomar Natatoirum after claiming both legs of a triangular against CSU Pueblo (120-107) and Adams State (177-43) in Pueblo on Oct. 9.  They won four individual events and had numerous other runner-up finishes as well.  Sarah Mortenson won the 3-meter diving event while Taylor Grebe won the 100 free in 56.62 seconds.  They also won both the 400 medley and 400 free relays.
 
Series Histories
 
The Maverick men are 19-5 all-time against Mines in dual meets and have won 13 straight match-ups  in the last 8-plus years since Oct. 18, 2013.
 
The Maverick women are 27-3 against the Orediggers and have won nine straight duals during the 27-meet RMAC winning streak.  Mines' last victory in the series came on Halloween in 2015 in Alamosa.
 
Neither Oredigger squad has posted a dual-meet win over the Mavericks in Grand Junction.
 
The Mavericks are 16-1 against Western Colorado winning each of the last ten meetings since Western won a Oct. 30, 2015 meet.  CMU is 9-0 at home against the Mountaineers.
 
The Mavericks have never dueled Augustana.
 
Up Next
 
After being at home for their first two meets, the Mavericks will head on the road for the first and only time during the fall semester competing on Nov. 5 in Laramie, Wyoming.  The Maverick men will take on the University of Wyoming Cowboys while the women will compete in a double-dual with the host Cowgirls and Colorado State.
 
The Mavs will then return home to host the 4-day 3 Performance Invitational from Nov. 17-20.