GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Steven Howe and Jandre van Wyk both went 2-0 to lead the Colorado Mesa University men's tennis team's efforts against Pacific West Conference rival MSU Denver on Friday afternoon here at the Elliott Tennis Center.  However, the Roadrunners won each of the other four singles matches after taking two of three doubles matches en-route to a 5-2 team victory.
 
The Roadrunners improved to 7-0 while the Mavericks fell to 8-7 heading into their regular season finale on Saturday against Division III Colorado College, a team that they blanked 7-0 last weekend in Colorado Springs.  Saturday's match is set for a 2:30 p.m. start after the Mavericks will recognize Thiago Nejm and 2020 senior and now volunteer assistant coach Alain de la Bastide during Senior Day festivities at 1:15 p.m.
 
On Friday, Howe and van Wyk won their seventh straight doubles affair, besting the Roadrunners' Daniel Llorente and Mateo Besada, 6-3.  However, the Roadrunners won the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles matches to take the doubles point an early 1-0 team lead.
 
In singles, Howe defeated Jack McDermott, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 2 while van Wyk battled from a set down to win over Besada, 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-4) in the fourth flight.
 
The Roadrunners, who won a 6-1 decision over the Mavericks last Friday in Denver, had taken a 3-0 lead with straight set wins at No. 1 and No. 6 singles before Howe put the Mavericks on the board. 
 
However, the Roadrunners also won at No. 3 singles to clinch the team win before later claiming a No. 5 singles win over Nejm, who also won his first set, 6-1, before going down in three sets (1-6, 6-1, 6-3) to David Kijak.