GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University men's and women's tennis teams will continue their spring seasons this weekend playing three matches apiece in suburban Phoenix on Friday and Saturday.
 
Both Maverick squads will play fellow NCAA Division II and former conference rival Western New Mexico on Friday at noon before taking on NAIA Arizona Christian later that day at 4 p.m.  The Mavs will then play another NAIA foe in Ottawa University of Arizona on Saturday at 11:30 a.m.  The Western New Mexico and Ottawa matches will be played at the Paseo Racquet Club in Glendale, Arizona.  The duals with Arizona Christian have been moved to the Phoenix Tennis Center on Friday afternoon. 
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks squads were off last week but spent the first two days of February in Pocatello, Idaho, playing two matches against Division I Idaho State.
 
The Maverick men played a split doubleheader against the Division I Bengals, dropping a pair of 7-0 decisions on the morning and evening of Saturday, Feb. 1.  The CMU women played in between that afternoon and fell 7-0 before playing to a slightly tighter 6-1 margin on the following Sunday morning (Feb. 2).
 
The Maverick men did get a No. 2 doubles win from William Leschig and Henry Scheck in the second dual.
 
Jade Brilhante and Devyn Rodriguez also dominated their No. 1 doubles match on Feb. 2, winning that 6-1 before Jane Steuer came from a set down to win at No. 6 singles, giving the Maverick women their lone team point of the weekend.
 
February Pilgrimage to the Valley of the Sun
 
This week's trip to Arizona will mark the fifth straight year that the Mavs have taken a February trip to the Grand Canyon State and the Phoenix metropolitan area as they are able to get some early season outdoor matches in what is typically nice and warmer weather.  Current forecasts- for this weekend call for high temperatures of nearly 70 degrees on both Friday and Saturday although there is a small chance for rain on Friday morning.
 
The Mavs played indoors in their spring openers at Idaho State and will also play inside in Kearney, Nebraska next weekend.
 
The Maverick women have had some fun in the sun in previous trips going 10-2 against WNMU, ACU and OUAZ in the past four years while sweeping all three matches on their trip last February (Feb 16-17). 
 
The Maverick men have gone 5-7 on the trip over the past four years, including a 2-1 mark last year.
 
Homecoming
 
This weekend's trip will also be a homecoming of sorts for Maverick sophomore Devyn Rodriguez, who is a native of nearby Chandler and a 2023 graduate of Chandler High School. 
 
As a freshman, Rodriguez went 3-0 in singles and 1-2 with former partner Julianna Campos during the Mavs' trip to her home state.
 
She and doubles partner Jade Brilhante, who has a connection to Arizona as well, are a team-best 7-4 in doubles so far this year.  Brilhante was at Division I Northern Arizona in Flagstaff last spring but did not play due to NCAA transfer regulations after spending 1 ½ years at Utah State prior to that.
 
Oh Henry!
 
Maverick junior Henry Scheck has enjoyed a strong 2024-25 season thus far and could be the first Maverick to reach double figures for singles wins this weekend.  He carries an 8-4 overall singles record, including a 3-2 mark in duals at No. 2, into the Arizona trip.
 
He and doubles partner William Leschig also lead the Mavs with five doubles wins and ended the fall season ranked fourth in the ITA's West Regional Doubles rankings.
 
Know You Foes (Men's Opponents)
 
Western New Mexico
 
The Mustang men will officially open their spring season this week playing OUAZ and Arizona Christian on Thursday before facing the Mavs on Friday.
 
They did play an exhibition match at Division I Grand Canyon on Jan. 24, falling 7-0.
 
The Mustangs went 5-17 a year ago.
 
Javier Romero is ranked 20^th in the ITA's Division II South Central Regional Rankings for singles after the fall season.
 
Arizona Christian
 
The Firestorm had a great fall individual tournament season with Hugo Abril reaching the quarterfinals of the NAIA ITA Cup in both singles and doubles alongside partner Lennert Lemahieu.
 
They also had all four individual semifinals at the NAIA ITA West Regionals with Abril coming out on top over team newcomer Petar Wemmenhove by retirement in the final after beating doubles partner Lemahieu in the semifinals.
 
They also had two doubles teams in the semifinals with Abril and Lemahieu winning 6-3, 6-4 over a Hope International duo in the final.
 
Those performances have Abril and Lemahieu ranked fifth nationally in the ITA's NAIA National Doubles rankings.  Abril is also ranked eighth in singles while Wemmenhove and Lemahieu are 39^th and 46^th, respectively.
 
The Firestorm are ranked 22^nd as a team in the ITA rankings at the end of the fall and were receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Preseason Rating, released back in August.
 
They dropped their lone dual of the spring thus far by a 7-0 margin to NCAA Division II UT Permian Basin after going 8-10 last year.
 
OUAZ
 
The Spirit went 0-13 last spring and lost a 7-0 decision to UT Permian Basin in their lone dual of this season on Jan. 31. 
 
Know You Foes (Women's Opponents)
 
Western New Mexico
 
The Mustang women are currently 1-0 in official duals, having claimed a 5-2 neutral-court win over CSU Pueblo on Feb. 1 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  They Mustangs also lost a 7-0 exhibition decision to Division I New Mexico that day.  WNMU has also played exhibitions against Division I UTEP and New Mexico State.
 
The Mustangs will play OUAZ and Arizona Christian on Thursday before taking on the Mavs to wrap up their week.
 
The Mustangs went 1-20 last spring.
 
Arizona Christian
 
The Firebirds are ranked 21^st as a team in the ITA's NAIA Rankings after the fall and have three players amongst the NAIA's Top 50 in singles play with Madeline Monroy, Lucy Rekasch and Vittoria Quadri checking in the No. 15, No. 28 and No. 49 spots, respectively. 
 
Monroy won the ITA NAIA West Regional title, defeating Rekasch in the final, and advanced to the ITA Cup.  Monroy and Quadri also played in the ITA Regional doubles final.
 
The Firestorm went 9-8 overall last season, posting a 4-2 record in the Golden States Athletic Conference.  They then defeated OUAZ in the conference tournament quarterfinal before dropping a 4-3 decision to now NCAA Division II Menlo in the semifinals.
 
They will play Western New Mexico on Thursday to begin their spring season.
 
OUAZ
 
Spirit players Katherine Frayre Busani and Martina Antich advanced to the NAIA ITA Cup in doubles during the fall after recording three wins at the West Regional.
 
Last year's team went 2-15 and saw the season ended in the Golden States Athletic Conference quarterfinals by Arizona Christian.
 
The Spirit have yet to play this spring but will face Western New Mexico on Thursday before taking on the Mavericks.
 
Series Histories (Men)
 
The Maverick men are 3-24 all-time against Western New Mexico, a former conference rival.  The Mustangs have won the last four match-ups, including two in 2022.  The last ten meetings have all been on neutral courts.  CMU last won on Feb. 13, 2021 in Surprise, Arizona.
 
The Mavs are 4-4 all-time against Arizona Christian with all eight previous matches taking place in the Phoenix area.  CMU claimed a 5-2 win a year ago on Feb. 16 in Glendale.
 
The Mavs are 2-2 against Ottawa, winning each of the past two years by 4-0 (2024) and 4-3 (2023) scorelines.  All four previous match-ups have taken place in Surprise and Glendale.
 
Series Histories (Women)
 
The Mavs have a long-standing rivalry with Western New Mexico and lead the series, 21-8.  They have faced each other in neutral court match-ups every spring since 2016 after their former Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rivalry ended in 2015 when WNMU left the conference, which no longer sponsor's tennis.  CMU has won four of the last five and six of the last eight meetings, including a 5-2 decision on Feb. 16 of last year in Glendale.
 
The CMU women have won five straight and are 7-2 all-time against Arizona Christian.  All nine previous match-ups have been played in Phoenix or surrounding suburbs of Glendale or Scottsdale.  They have defeated the Firestorm by 6-1 or 7-0 margins in each of the last four trips to Arizona, including two wins on back-to-back February days (Feb. 17 & 18) in 2023.
 
CMU is 2-1 all-time against Ottawa.  They claimed 4-0 wins in 2021 and 2024.  The Spirit won a 6-1 match in 2022 but were not able to field a team for a scheduled 2023 match-up.
 
Up Next
 
The Mavs will also be on the road next weekend, traveling to Kearney, Nebraska where they will both play three indoor matches in the Ernest Grundy Tennis Center.  Both Maverick squads will face NAIA Hastings, Nebraska-Kearney and Rockhurst over their Feb. 21-22 stay in the Midwest.