GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University women's tennis team will continue their busy stretch and try to break out of a 6-match slide when they travel to the Denver metropolitan area to face fellow PacWest Conference foe Domnican in a neutral-site encounter.
 
Due to weather forecasts in the area, the match against the Penguins has been moved multiple times this week but will now take place at 10 a.m. indoors at the Randy Ross Tennis Center in Englewood (7760 South Wheeling Court; Englewood, CO 80112).
 
Up to 50 fans, who must wear masks, will be allowed to watch the match from the clubhouse.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks last played on Tuesday as they hosted Dallas Baptist in their home-opener at the Elliott Tennis Center.  The Mavericks dropped the match 6-1 although Halle Romero, a native of Corpus Christi, Texas, won a pair of matches against the Patriots from her home state.  Three of the other matches came down to tie-breakers as well, all of which went the way of the visitors as the dual was much closer than the finals score wound indicate.
 
In doubles, Romero and Issy Coman teamed up for a 6-1 victory in the No. 2 flight while Romero claimed a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 4 singles to give the Mavericks' a team point, their first in six duals.
 
Tough PacWest start
 
Tuesday's match came on the heels of a difficult stretch where the Mavericks played their first three matches as members of the Pacific West Conference on Friday and Saturday in southern California.  During the trip, the dropped matches to Concordia-Irvine, Azusa Pacific and Biola. 
 
The PacWest is one of the deepest and toughest conferences is the country.  Concordia was ranked 25^th nationally at the time and moved up three spots to No. 22 in the Oracle/ITA Division II Rankings in the latest rankings that were released Thursday morning.  Azusa Pacific is still ranked 11^th.    Hawai'I Pacific, now ranked eighth, Fresno Pacific, tabbed 18^th, and now No. 25 Hawai'i-Hilo are also represent the conference and give the Pac West five nationally-ranked squads.
 
Six in a row both ways
 
The Mavericks have now lost six straight matches after getting off to a 6-0 start, which was their best in school history.
 
Speaking of six
 
Six has also been the number of matches that Halle Romero has won in both singles and doubles play this year.  She leads or co-leads the Mavericks in both disciplines and total wins so far this year, posting a 6-6 singles mark, almost all in the No. 4 position, where she sports a 6-5 record.  In doubles, Romero is a team-best 6-5 and has played with four different partners in all three flights so far this season.  In her last six matches, Romero has played with Issy Coman.  Five of those matches have come in the No. 2 position.
 
Carolena Campos also has six doubles wins to her credit and is 6-6.  She and Romero have not played together as of yet.
 
PacWest honor
 
Romero also became the first Maverick to ever receive a PacWest honor as she was named as  the conference's initial Women's Tennis Player of the Week for 2021 back on Feb. 16.
 
Mix it up and the key to success
 
Maverick Head Coach Dan MacDonald has now used ten different doubles combinations so far this season.  Those various duos have combined to post a 7-5 record in both the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.
 
Doubles has also been a key to the Mavericks.  When winning the doubles point, the Mavericks are a perfect 6-0 as a team.  However, they not yet been able to overcome a doubles-point defeat in any of their six team losses thus far in 2021.
 
As a team, the Maverick women are a combined 15-8 (.652) in doubles play so far this year and have won the doubles point in each of their six victories.
 
About Dominican
 
The Penguins are currently 1-4 heading into a Thursday morning match at MSU Denver.  They have dropped four straight matches after claiming a 5-0 home win over William Jessup on Feb. 10.  They have since fallen to PacWest foes Academy of Art, Fresno Pacific and Biola as well as to Division I Santa Clara.

Zoe Coggins is the lone Penguin with two singles wins, going 2-3 thus far in the No. 3, 4 and 5 positions.  Amber Del Rosario has played in the No. 1 spot in four of the five duals thus far, going 1-3 in that position and 1-4 overall.
 
Fifth-year head coach Cristina Visico has fielded five different doubles pairings thus far, but has put Coggins and Del Rosario together in the No. 1 flight in all five.  They are 1-4.  Haley Garcia has the Penguins' best doubles record so far going a combined 2-3 with Kamar Alajeely and Nicole Bermudez as partners.
 
Series Histories
 
Friday's encounter with the Penguins will be the first time the teams have ever met.
 
Up Next
 
After playing what will be their fifth match in eight days on Friday, the Mavericks' schedule will slow down and will see them play just one match each over the next three weeks.  On Friday, Mar. 19, the Mavericks will play host to Division I Weber State at 1 p.m. at the Elliott Tennis Center.  The Mavs will then travel to St. George, Utah to face former Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rival and now Division I Dixie State on Mar. 27.  They also have a scrimmage set for Apr.3 in Denver before returning to Division II and PacWest play at MSU Denver on Apr. 9.