GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After enjoying one of their best overall seasons in program history but falling just short of an NCAA regional tournament appearance, the Colorado Mesa University Maverick women golf team will open their 2021-22 season on Monday and Tuesday competing at The Swan Memorial in Thornton, Colorado.
 
Colorado Christian University is hosting up to 22 teams at the tournament to be played at Todd Creek Golf Club on a 6,039-yard, par-72 track.
 
An overwhelming majority of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams will be amongst the field, which will play two 18-hole rounds on Monday and another single round on Tuesday.
 
CMU finished third at last year's RMAC Championships but held a 1-shot lead entering the final round.

Live scoring for Monday and Tuesday's action can be seen on Golf Stat's website.
 
CCU's tournament webpage also has additional information on the season-opener.
 
2020-21 Success
 
As a team, the Mavericks posted a 311.25 team scoring average last season, just a single stroke per round off the program-record.  The Mavs finished in the top-3 in six of their eight tournaments, claiming victory at the El Cheapo Classic in Pueblo on Mar. 21.
 
Returning Stars
 
The Mavericks return two of their four All-RMAC players from last season but must replace two other 5-year standouts, who have graduated.
 
Redshirt junior Elly Walters returns after earning first team honors in her debut season on the Maverick golf team. The Rifle, Colorado native who played basketball at CMU in 2019-20 after doing the same at Regis University in 2018-19, posted an impressive scoring average of 77.94 over 17 competitive rounds last year, the sixth best single-season scoring average in Maverick history.  She had seven top-20 finishes in her eight tournaments a year ago, including four top-10's.
 
One of those came at last year's Swan Memorial, where she finished sixth while leaving the Mavs to a third place team finish.
 
Meanwhile, Crystle Querol returns for her third season and redshirt sophomore year of eligibility for the Mavericks after earning Second Team All-RMAC honors last season.  The Henderson, Nevada native was third on the Maverick squad last year with her 78.12 scoring average, eighth best in program history  She also had five top-20 finishes, including a third place positioning at The Swan Memorial and the SMSU Spring Invitational to begin the spring half of the campaign.
 
No More More
 
For the first time since the spring of 2016, the Mavericks will be without the services of Hannah More, who earned All-RMAC honors all four possible times during her 5-year Maverick career.  Taking advantage of the COVID-eligibility relief waiver after her traditional senior season was cut short by the pandemic, More came back for a fifth year in 2020-21, cementing her spot as the top golfer in program history. 
 
More, who earned First Team All-RMAC accolades in both 2018 and 2021, finished her career with a school-record setting 77.44 scoring average and had two of the top three single-season marks in Maverick history for those who played 12 rounds or more in a season.  She had a 77.06 average last year, the second best in program history.
 
Bye Bye Randi
 
Similarly, CMU will also be without Randi Kim, who also took advantage of a fifth season of eligibility in 2020-21.  She was a 3-time Second Team All-RMAC selection, including in 2020-21 and was fourth on the Maverick team in scoring average at 80.47 last year while finishing her career sixth on the CMU career charts at 80.09.
 
Returners a plenty
 
Although the Mavericks will miss two of their returning starters from the last five years, the Mavericks will return five other athletes from last year in addition to Walters and Querol, most notably redshirt junior Brandy McClain. 
 
McClain played in all five of CMU's tournament last spring, posting a 80.91 scoring average in 11 rounds while finishing in a tie for 12^th at the RMAC Championships, one of her two top-20 finishes.  The Highlands Ranch, Colorado native, also had two top-5 finishes. in the fall of 2019 before the Spring season of that year was wiped out by COVID.
 
Spot starters Sadie Kelley, Myranda Kotlowski and Brea Tyrus all return as well after playing in six combined tournaments during their freshman or redshirt freshman campaigns and will certainly have an opportunity to consistently move into the top 5.
 
Haley Prey also returns in 2020-21 after redshirting last year.
 
Newcomers
 
The Mavericks also welcome two new freshman to the team this year in Cassidy Phelan of Henderson, Nevada and local product Brittlynn O'Dell.
 
Four Corners
 
The Mavericks will play four tournaments this fall, competing in all four states that intersect at Four Corners Monument. Beginning the season in their home state of Colorado, the Mavericks will then have a week off before competing at the Western New Mexico/RJGA Women's Shootout in Goodyear, Arizona on Sept. 27-28.
 
They will then head to Westminster College's Wasatch Invitational in South Jordan, Utah on Oct. 8-9 before wrapping up the fall portion of the season on Oct. 18-19 at the Nick Turner Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico, an event Fort Lewis College will host.