GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University men's tennis team will wrap up their season on Saturday when the Mavericks host Colorado College and MSU Denver in a split doubleheader.
 
The CMU women are also playing the same opponents on Saturday after hosting CSU Pueblo on Friday.
 
Saturday's events begin at 8 a.m. when the Maverick tennis programs will recognize their seniors, including men's players Jorge Abreu and Brandon Keller.  The Mavs will then take on the CC Tigers at 9 a.m.   The Mavs will also provide food and drinks to fans for Saturday's 2 p.m. match-up against MSU Denver as part of Community Support Day.
 
The Maverick men, who will be playing just their third and fourth home matches of the entire season, will enter the day with a 7-13 record and will be looking to finish the season on a high note.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Maverick men dropped a 5-2 de-facto playoff match to MSU Denver last Friday in Denver.  The two teams came into the match ranked eighth and ninth in last week's Pacific West Conference rankings and thanks to results, the Roadrunners secured the eighth and final spot in the Pacific West Conference Tournament after the field was set by this week's rankings.  CMU remained in ninth.
 
Sophomores Emil Hultman and Diogo Manzano did their part, claiming singles victories to secure the Mavs' two team points, but were not enough for CMU.
 
A complete recap can be seen here - https://cmumavericks.com/news/2024/4/5/mens-tennis-mavs-suffer-5-2-defeat-at-msu-denver.aspx
 
Senior Spotlight
 
The Mavs will recognize their two seniors prior to Saturday's match against CC at 8 a.m.
 
Jorge Abreu has been with the Mavs for three seasons after transferring from Collin College in McKinney, Texas.  He has an 8-12 singles record this season and is 6-17 in doubles with multiple partners.  Abreu will enter his final collegiate day with 52 career victories in three years at CMU, going 29-37 in singles and 23-40 in doubles, making appearances in all six singles flights and all three doubles flights.
 
He was named as the PacWest Player of the Week on Feb. 14 of last season.
 
The Merida, Yucatan, Mexico native has also shined in the classroom, earning ITA Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-PacWest honors in each of the past two seasons.  He was also named to the CSC Academic All-District® Team last year.
 
Meanwhile, local native Brandon Keller has also been with the Mavs for the past three years.  An occasional spot starter, he has also been named to the Academic All-PacWest team for the past two years.
 
Swedish leader
 
Maverick sophomore Emil Hultman leads the Mavericks with a 14-7 singles record and is also a team-best 11-6 in duals, having played in the No. 4 and 5 spots.  He has won four straight decisions and is 6-2 in his last ten starts with four other unfinished matches.
 
Hultman also has the Mavs' best doubles record at 11-8 overall.  He is 10-6 in doubles during duals, going 10-5 with Philemon Jabin.  The duo is 8-3 at No. 2 doubles, a strong point for the Mavericks, who have posted a combined 22-34 doubles record (.393) in duals this season.
 
The second to ten
 
Hultman received company in the double-figure wins crowd as Diogo Manzano claimed his tenth singles win of the season in last Friday's dual with MSU Denver. 
 
Three other Mavericks could potentially reach that mark on Saturday as William Leschig is currently 9-16 while Jorge Abreu (8-12) and Henry Scheck (8-15) are both sitting on eight wins with two potential opportunities to go.
 
Although Hultman is the only Maverick to have reached double-figures for singles wins so far this season, teammates William Leschig and Diogo Manzano could both reach that mark on Friday.  Manzano is 9-12 overall and 5-9 in duals while Leschig is 9-15 overall and 5-12 in duals.
 
Leschig could also reach 10 wins for doubles and sports a 9-15 overall doubles record, including a 6-14 dual-meet mark at No. 1 (4-11) and 2 (2-3) with two different partners in Abreu and Scheck.
 
About the Tigers
 
Colorado College will enter Saturday morning's match-up with a 5-9 overall record.  The Tigers have dropped four of their last five matches, including a Mar. 30 home encounter with MSU Denver by a 6-3 score.
 
The Tigers have been fairly strong in singles play, combining for a 41-42 mark as a team this spring.  However, they are just a combined 13-28 in doubles play.
 
Andrew Kaelin has a team-best 9-5 mark in singles and has played at No. 1 throughout the season.  He and Aiden Little, who is 8-6 at the No. 2 and 3 positions, have both won their last three decisions.
 
Lucas Pastor and Nate Beerman lead the Tigers with a 5-4 record as a doubles partnership.
 
About the Roadrunners
 
The Roadrunner men have compiled an 8-11 record this season but have won three straight and four of their last five duals, including last Friday's win over the Mavs.  They are playing Division I Oral Roberts in an exhibition match on Thursday and will play another against Illinois State on Sunday after taking on the Mavs on Saturday.
 
Juho Kantola, who leads the Roadrunners with a 17-7 singles record, continues to be nationally-ranked and is sitting 62^nd in this week's ITA rankings.  He has won three straight matches and is 12-5 in duals, including a 3-1 mark in the top fight and a 9-4 mark at No. 2.
 
Marco Jalalian is also riding high, winning his last five decisions to improve to 8-8.  Maximo Lawlor has won four straight and is 7-9, including a 7-5 dual meet mark, highlighted by his perfect 6-0 mark in the sixth flight.
 
Jeanloup Auzias and Alejandro Jimenez have a 12-6 doubles record at No. 2 while Jalalian and Kantola are 9-7 in the top flight.

Series History
 
The Mavericks have dominated the rivalry with Colorado College, winning the last 20 and 27 of the 31 all-time match-ups.  The Mavs are also a perfect 8-0 against the Tigers at home.
 
CC's last win in the rivalry came back in 2009, when they won a 5-4 decision in Colorado Springs.
 
However, the MSU Denver Roadrunners have had the Mavs' number in recent year, winning the last 15 match-ups between the long-time rivals, who both played in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference before the RMAC ceased men's tennis sponsorship.  MSU Denver leads the overall series, 37-15 and has a 13-8 record against the Mavs in Grand Junction.
 
The Mavs' last win was by a 5-4 score in Denver on Apr. 8, 2017.  The Roadrunners then avenged that victory with a 5-4 win in the 2017 RMAC Tournament.
 
Up Next
 
Although Friday's encounter will largely determine the post-season hopes for both squads, they will face again next Saturday (Apr. 13) at 2 p.m. in Grand Junction in the regular season finale for both squads.  The Mavs will also play host to Colorado College earlier that morning at 9 a.m. at the Elliott Tennis Center.