IRVINE, Calif.— The Colorado Mesa University Mavericks have been picked 11
th in the 2022 PacWest Conference Women's Tennis Preseason Poll, which was announced by the conference on Thursday afternoon.
The Mavericks are affiliate members of the conference, which makes up the entirety of the NCAA Division II West Region, in men's and women's tennis, and completed their first year of conference membership in the spring of 2021.
CMU went 12-13 overall in their debut season and will carry a 1-2 record into this spring from their three team matches played during the fall season.
Defending regional champion Hawai'i Pacific claimed the top spot in the PacWest poll with 207 points after receiving 12 of the first place votes. Azusa Pacific, which won two of the three meetings against the Sharks, including the PacWest Championship final, was tabbed second with 193 points. The Cougars received the other three first place votes.
Biola (173), Point Loma (149) and Concordia (146) rounded out the top five. Academy of Art (136), Fresno Pacific (127), MSU Denver (111), Cal State LA (104) and Hawai'i-Hilo' (94) were in the second group of five while the Mavericks finished ahead of Stanislaus State (59), Dominican (53), Holy Names (35) and Chaminade (19) in the 15-team poll.
The Mavs are due to play eight of their PacWest rivals this spring and will face MSU Denver twice.
At the end of the regular season, a conference seeding committee will rank the top 12 teams, who will qualify for the Apr. 20-23 PacWest Championships in Surprise, Arizona.
The Mavs return five of their starters from last year's team in 2022, including their top two singles players in
Issy Coman and
Maike Waldburger. They also added five freshman including
Makenna Livingston of Huntington Beach, California. Livingston won a pair of singles matches and advanced to the Round of 16 at the ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) West Regional, which included a majority of their PacWest opposition.
Macy Richards, another freshman, who hails from Bountiful, Utah, led the Mavericks with five singles wins in the fall, and posted a 2-1 record at No. 4 singles in the team matches.
The Mavericks will begin their spring campaign next Friday (Feb. 11) with matches at Ottawa (Ariz.) and against Western New Mexico in Glendale, Arizona. They will see their first PacWest opposition on Mar. 3 at Biola, ranked 24
th in the ITA's Preseason Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
Azusa Pacific (T-7
th), Hawai'i-Hilo (13
th), and the Academy of Art (25
th) also represent the PacWest in the poll while Concordia and Fresno Pacific were also receiving votes in the national poll.
The CMU men were picked eighth amongst ten teams in the PacWest's Men's Tennis poll, which was released Wednesday.
| 2022 PACWEST WOMEN'S TENNIS PRESEASON POLL |
|
TEAM |
POINTS |
2021 RECORD |
| 1. |
Hawai`i Pacific (12) |
207 |
9-4 |
| 2. |
Azusa Pacific (3) |
193 |
16-3 |
| 3. |
Biola |
173 |
13-8 |
| 4. |
Point Loma |
149 |
7-9 |
| 5. |
Concordia |
146 |
14-5 |
| 6. |
Academy of Art |
136 |
5-7 |
| 7. |
Fresno Pacific |
127 |
7-10 |
| 8. |
MSU Denver |
111 |
14-10 |
| 9. |
Cal State LA |
104 |
DNP |
| 10. |
Hawai`i Hilo |
94 |
8-6 |
| 11. |
Colorado Mesa |
74 |
12-13 |
| 12. |
Stanislaus State |
59 |
DNP |
| 13. |
Dominican |
53 |
2-11 |
| 14. |
Holy Names |
35 |
DNP |
| 15. |
Chaminade |
19 |
0-8 |
| First-place votes in parenthesis |
