SURPRISE, Ariz.— The Colorado Mesa University women's tennis team was downed by fifth-seeded and nationally-ranked Fresno Pacific University in the opening round of the Pacific West Conference Championships on Wednesday morning here at the Surprise Tennis Center.
 
The 12^th-seeded Mavericks were downed, 4-0, to fall to 11-14 on the season and will next play No. 8 seed Concordia University-Irvine in a Thursday consolation match, which will conclude the season.  That match will be played a 5 p.m. Arizona Time (6 p.m. Mountain), which is a change from the original backet.
 
Although the Mavericks did not win any matches against the Sunbirds (14-8),who are gunning for a NCAA Division II Tournament berth, they had leads in two unfinished matches.
 
In doubles, Julianna Campos and Paige Furin were leading FPU's Alice Marques and Elise Leik, 5-4 in the No. 3 flight.
 
In singles, freshman Macy Richards won the first set, 6-3, and was well ahead of Marques (5-2) in the second of the fourth-flight affair.
 
The Sunbirds, ranked 66^th nationally as a team, had won the other two doubles matches to clinch the doubles point and then clinched the dual with singles wins in the No. 2, 3 and 5 affairs.
 
The No. 1 and 6 singles matches were also left unfinished.
 
At No. 1, CMU freshman Makenna Livingston was putting up quite a fight against nationally-ranked Maria Borodii.  The Sunbird junior, ranked 47th nationally in singles, won the first set, 7-5 and was leading the second 3-2 when her teammates clinched the dual.
 
At No. 6, Furin was leading the second set over Leik, 4-3 after her Sunbird counterpart had taken the first, 6-2.