Tavares, Fla. – Thursday's action at Hickory Point Beach for the AVCA Small College Beach Championships saw the Colorado Mesa Mavericks (13-9) go 2-0 on day one, defeating Catawba and Wayne State in pool play.
In addition to the team duals, the Mavericks entered two pairs into the Pairs Challenge both of which coming out of top to take home Pool Champion titles.
Hailey Peters and
Savannah Ott soared above their competition taking both of their matches in straight sets.
Competing together for the first time this season,
Rianne Brown and
Sydney Leffler took home their respective pool RAT-ttling their opponents in straight sets for a 2-0 finish on the day.
In the dual portion of the tournament, the Mavs opened up with the Indians of Catawba, earning the clean sheet with three of the five flights taking it in straight sets.
At the fives,
Tye Wedhorn and
Sabrina VanDeList cruised to a 21-8 win in the first set, fending off their opponent in the second, 21-18 for the win.
Jada Hall and
Jessa Megenhardt, alongside
Macie Lachemann and
Holly Schmidt took their respective flights in two-set fashion.
A battle on courts four and one,
Ara Norwood and
Sierra Hunt came back from dropping the first set to win the next two for the match.
Hahni Johnson and
Savannah Spitzer took their first set, dropping a marathon of a second set before securing the match and the sweep with a 15-10 third set.
With a break from the humidity, the Mavs return for their second dual of the day later in the afternoon taming the Wildcats of Wayne State, 4-1.
Wedhorn and VanDeList were dominant at the fives, Hunt and Norwood claiming convincing sets at the fours for a 2-0 lead. Spitzer and Johnson secured the third team point at the top flight with a dominant performance. Schmidt and Lachemann added an insurance point with a three-set battle at the threes.
Wayne State grabbed a point at the threes.
Colorado Mesa take their success into day two, gearing up to play the Sailfish of Palm Beach Atlantic at 2 p.m. EST tomorrow, April 15. Following the conclusion of pool play, the team will await the decision for their challenge match later in the day.
