GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — To say the Colorado Mesa women's tennis players are happy not to be packing their bags and loading the bus is an understatement.
After traveling three straight weeks, the Mavericks will bask in the Western Slope fall weather by playing a rare home dual on Saturday against CSU Pueblo and looking to finish the fall season with a win.
The dual begins at 9 a.m. at the Elliott Tennis Center, CMU's first home match since April 15, when they defeated both the ThunderWolves and MSU Denver on their home court.
Last time out
CMU competed in the ITA West Regional Championships in Fresno, California, last weekend, with
Devyn Rodriguez and
Julianna Campos both advancing in the singles consolation bracket.
Rodriguez reached the consolation quarterfinals before being eliminated, and Campos made it to the consolation round of 16.
As a doubles team, the two made it to the quarterfinals of the main draw and are now 4-2 as a doubles team.
Issy Coman and
Makenna Livingston opened singles play with victories and also won their first doubles match in the main draw. Livingston dropped a three-set decision in the second round to the eventual regional champion, Christiana Miruna Tudor of Azusa Pacific, 2-6, 6-3 (10-2).
Welcome, sunshine
The Mavericks' fall season has been plagued by rain, but that shouldn't be an issue Saturday. The early forecast calls for sunny skies and a high of 85 degrees by late afternoon, making for some picture-perfect tennis weather.
Atta kid
Devyn Rodriguez has quickly adapted to college tennis. The freshman from Chandler, Arizona, has won both of her No. 3 singles matches in duals and is 6-3 overall in singles, including the Colorado College Invitational and the ITAs. She and senior
Julianna Campos have developed into a solid No. 2 doubles team, going 4-2 this fall.
Saturday's match will be her home debut at the Elliott Tennis Center.
Spotlight match
Depending on how the coaches pencil in their lineups, the projected No. 3 singles match between CMU's
Devyn Rodriguez and CSU Pueblo's Mariangel Nunez is one to watch. Both freshmen are off to outstanding careers, with Nunez, who hails from Weston, Florida, 3-0 in dual matches. The ThunderWolves played to clinch in their dual against Lubbock Christian, so Nunez's match did not finish. She played No. 3 singles in the first three duals of the fall, then moved up to No. 2 against Dallas Baptist, when Coach Beau Fresquez shuffled his lineup.
True home-court advantage
CMU and the ThunderWolves have met on the tennis courts since 1991, with the Mavericks holding a commanding 48-11 record in the rivalry. The Mavs have won each of the last 39 duals since and including 2007. With a 25-3 home-court record against the Pack, the Mavs haven't lost to CSU Pueblo since 2006, and last spring won 7-0 at the Elliott Tennis Center.
This is the first time the teams have played in the fall season since the 2016-17 season, also in Grand Junction, which CMU won 8-1. The past eight duals between the teams have been 7-0 CMU sweeps.
The Mavericks have few opportunities to play home matches, but have won five straight duals and seven of the past eight at the ETC.
Stat pack
The women's overall singles record this fall is 22-26, four wins below .500, but the doubles record is four wins above .500 at 10-6.
Know your foe
The ThunderWolves are 0-4 in duals, managing to play around the rain to get four matches in during the Pueblo Duals. They came up one win short of their first dual win since the spring of 2019, in a 4-3 loss to Fort Hays State, a team the Mavericks defeated 6-1 that weekend.
CSU Pueblo went 0-11 in duals last season and have lost 52 consecutive duals.
The coach
Dan MacDonald is in his 19th season as the CMU tennis coach. He's 270-207 in duals with the women's team and has a 206-229 dual record on the men's side.
That's a wrap
The short fall season ends Saturday with the dual — the men's team wrapped up its abbreviated fall slate in the ITA West Regional Championships. The spring season begins in February.
Hit with the Mavs
After Saturday's dual, tennis players from the community are invited to participate in a team fundraiser from 1-4 p.m., during which they'll do some drills and play with the CMU men's and women's players.
The fundraiser is $15 per player, payable on site by cash or check only, with drinks and pizza provided. Men and women rated 2.5-3.0 will be on the court from 1-2:30, with those rated 3.5 and above playing from 2:30-4 p.m.
For questions, or to pre-register, contact Head Coach
Dan MacDonald at (970) 210-4805 or by email at
dmacdona@coloradomesa.edu.
No. 1: Coman/Livingston (1-1/3-2)
No. 2: Campos/Rodriguez (1-1/4-2)
No. 3: Maier/Thomas (1-1/2-2)
No. 4: O'Rear/Steur (1-0)
No. 1: Marta Garcia (0-4)
No. 2: Margot Aebischer (1-3)
No. 3: Mariangel Nunez (3-0)
No. 4: Valentina Brienza (1-2)
No. 5: Sonrisa Bustamante (0-2)
No. 6: Avery Soto (0-1)
Doubles (Dual Record)
No. 1: Garcia/Nunez (0-4)
No. 2: Aebischer/Brienza (0-4)
No. 3: Malaya Pendon/Yelena Travica (0-4)
