GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After playing just three of their combined 34 matches at home thus far in 2021, the Colorado Mesa University Maverick tennis teams will conclude their regular season at home this weekend with a series of matches at the Elliott Tennis Center.
On Friday, the Mavericks will take on in-state and Pacific West Conference rival MSU Denver with men's action beginning at 1 p.m. and the women's dual starting 30 minutes later at 1:30 p.m.
On Saturday, the CMU women will host CSU Pueblo at 9:30 a.m. before the Maverick men and women complete the regular season against Colorado College at 2:30 p.m. In between those matches at 1:15 p.m., the Mavericks will recognize both their 2020 and 2021 seniors at Senior Day festivities.
Last Time Out
Both Maverick squads had successfully and busy weekends on the front range last weekend. The Maverick women played four matches in a span of less than 48 hours, going 3-1 with convincing wins over Austin College, Colorado College on Saturday in Colorado Springs and at CSU Pueblo on Sunday after dropping a Friday afternoon encounter at MSU Denver, something the Mavs will look to avenge.
Those results left the Mavericks with a 10-10 overall record heading into the weekend's home matches.
The Maverick men also played three matches in just over 24 hours on Friday and Saturday besting both Austin College and Colorado College without dropping a single set on Saturday in Colorado Springs after falling 6-1 to MSU Denver on Friday in what was their first official action in a month. CMU is now 8-6 heading into this weekend.
Doubles Dominance
The Mavericks were especially strong in doubles play last weekend.
The Maverick women went a combined 11-1 in doubles play, claiming the doubles point in all four of their duals in Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo last weekend.
The Maverick men went a combined 8-1 in doubles play last week, claiming the doubles point in all three duals while sweeping the doubles matches against both Austin and Colorado Colleges.
Both CMU teams won two of the three doubles matches against MSU Denver before sweeping all of the remaining doubles matches over the weekend.
Milestone Wins
Maverick redshirt sophomore
Maike Waldburger reached and zoomed past the 50 career win mark over the weekend. She entered Saturday's duals with 48 career wins and won all four of her total matches on Saturday and both of her encounters on Sunday CSU Pueblo and now has 54 career victories. She has earned 27 of those in both singles and doubles play.
Fifth-year senior
Carolena Campos is second on the current Maverick squad with 45 career wins and could reach the 50-win mark as early as this weekend.
On the men's side, redshirt sophomore
Steven Howe leads the current squad with 45 career victories and has a chance to reach 50 during next week's PacWest Conference tournament.
Senior Day
At 1:15 p.m. on Saturday, prior to warm-ups for the Colorado College match, the Mavericks will recognize both their three current seniors as well as 2020 graduates, who had their collegiate tennis careers cut short by the earlier stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the cancelation of much of last year's campaign, including that year's Senior Day festivities.
This year's list of seniors includes
Carolena Campos and
Alexi Klabunde on the women's side and
Thiago Nejm on the men's. Campos, a Grand Junction native, is in her fifth year as a Maverick while Klabunde and Nejm, a native of Rio de Janiero, Brazil, are fourth-year Maverick players, who have decided to complete their collegiate career this year even though they would be eligible to return in 2022 because of the COVID-19 related eligibility relief to student-athletes due to last year's cancelation.
Current Maverick volunteer assistant coach
Alain De La Bastide, who had his 2020 season cut short before turning his attention to coaching, and Maverick women's standout
Kristen Kirby, now living and working in the Denver area will be returning to campus this weekend and will be recognized.
Record setting doubles pace
The doubles duo of
Steven Howe and
Jandre van Wyk is currently 11-3 this season, good for a .786 season winning percentage. The Mavericks school record (amongst those with at least eight wins in a season) is .758, posted in 2008-09 by Jordan Chomko and Nick Provenza, who went 25-8 that year.
Howe and van Wyk have won six straight matches and are 9-3 at the No. 2 position this year. They also have one win in both the No. 1 and 3 flights this season.
Team battles for the lead
Thiago Nejm leads the Maverick men with nine singles wins having posted a 9-4 overall singles record, including an 8-4 mark at No. 6.
Jandre van Wyk and
Moises Cure are right behind for team-leadership honors with 8-4 and 8-5 singles records thus far.
On the women's side,
Halle Romero paces the Mavericks with nine singles wins. She moved up a spot to No. 3 for the last three Maverick duals on Saturday and Sunday and responded by going 3-0.
Meanwhile, both Julianna and
Carolena Campos are right behind with eight singles wins a piece. Julianna, a freshman, has a winning 8-7 record, playing mostly in the No. 6 position, while Carolena, who was in the No. 3 spot before switching spots with Romero on Saturday, is 8-12. Both of them have won their last three matches as well.
Regional Rankings
Both Maverick teams were included in the Oracle/ITA Division II West Regional rankings that were released back on Mar. 23. CMU's men were ranked eight while the women were tabbed ninth.
On Wednesday, the Maverick men learned that they were one of four teams "under consideration" in the official NCAA Division II Regional Rankings, which will eventually determine the fields for next month's 4-team regional tournaments.
About the Men's Opponents
MSU Denver
MSU Denver will roll into Grand Junction with a 6-9 record, but winners of three straight, including last Friday's 6-1 win over the Mavericks in Denver. They also claimed wins over Colorado College on Apr. 3 and on Sunday and scored a 5-2 exhibition win over Northern Arizona last Thursday as well.
The Roadrunners' David Kijak leads the team with a 9-4 singles record and has won his last three and seven of his last eight matches while playing in the No. 4 and 5 positions.
Jenaloup Auzias and Jack McDermott are 10-3 in doubles, playing each of their last six matches in the No. 2 spot after splitting time between No. and 3 earlier in the season.
They were seventh in the ITA regional rankings but not "under consideration" in the official NCAA regional rankings.
Colorado College
The Tigers are now 1-5 on the season after they claimed their first win of the year by a 7-2 score over Austin College on Sunday before dropping a 7-0 decision to MSU Denver later in the day.
They also lost 7-0 to the Mavericks last Saturday in Colorado Springs.
About the Women's Opponents
MSU Denver
The Roadrunners are 10-9 on the year and have won their last six matches, including last Friday's encounter with Mavericks in Denver. They were ranked tenth in the Mar. 23 Oracle/ITA West Regional Rankings.
Brooklynn Ross leads the Roadrunners with an 11-5 singles record, including a 11-4 mark in the top flight. She and Isabel Heras are also an impressive 13-2 in the No. 1 doubles position and are the 17
th ranked duo in Division II, according to the initial Oracle/ITA Top 25 National Doubles rankings, released last Thursday.
Gala Castello is also in double figures for wins in both singles and doubles play. She is 10-6 in singles and 10-5 with Marie Cool in doubles, playing all but one of their matches in the No. 3 spot.
CSU Pueblo
The ThunderWolves have struggled this spring and are 0-6 as a team. They have just one team point from those encounters, which came from Kali Hamilton at No. 1 singles, who defeated Colorado College's Magdalene Gonzales on Mar. 7. The team is a combined 1-32 in singles play.
Hamilton and Tilly Blasdale also have a doubles win to their credit, defeating Gonzales and Olivia Dicks, 8-1.
Colorado College
The Tigers are 2-5 on the year having claimed victories over Austin College on Sunday and over CSU Pueblo last month in their season-opener.
Elizabeth Girian claimed the Tigers' lone win in last Saturday's match against CMU. Malia Rivera had gone 2-1 in singles to begin the season.
Men's Series Histories
The MSU Denver Roadrunners hold a 30-15 advantage of the Maverick men since 1996 and have won the last eight matches since CMU claimed an away win in Denver on Apr. 8 as part of a stretch that saw the Mavericks win four straight.
Conversely, the Mavericks have dominated Colorado College, winning 14 straight encounters and 21 of 25 since 1996.
Women's Series Histories
The MSU Denver Roadrunners hold the slightest of advantages, 28-27 in the series with the Mavericks, but have won the last 11 meetings since the 2016-17 season. The Mavericks had won the previous seven.
The Mavericks have won 34 straight matches against CSU Pueblo's women building 43-11 lead in the series. The last three matches have been decided by 7-0 scores. CSU Pueblo's last win came on Apr. 22, 2006.
The Mavericks have also dominated Colorado College as of late, winning each of the last 11 matches.
Up Next
The Mavericks will learn their seeding and opponents early next week for the PacWest Conference Tennis Championships, which begin next Wednesday in Surprise, Arizona.
