GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After strong performances in Arizona last week, the Colorado Mesa University men's and women's teams will look to continue posting wins when they head back out on the road to play three indoor matches apiece in Kearney, Nebraska.
Both Maverick squads will face NAIA Hastings College on Friday morning at 8 a.m. CST (7 a.m. Mountain) before taking on the host University of Nebraska-Kearney Lopers that afternoon. The men's match-up with the Lopers is slated for 1 p.m. CST (Noon Mountain) while the women will play four hours later at 5 p.m. CST (4 p.m. Mountain).
The Mavs units will then take on another NCAA Division II foe in Rockhurst University on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. CST (11:30 a.m. Mountain).
Streams of all the matches to be played in the Ernest Grundy Tennis Center can be found via IOnCourt, accessable at the link above.
Last Time Out
The Mavericks were in Arizona last week playing a neutral site encounters against Western New Mexico, Arizona Christian and Ottawa University of Arizona. The Maverick women swept all three matches for the second straight year and improved to 5-4 overall this season while moving above .500 for the first time this year.
The Maverick men fell 4-2 to Western New Mexico but rallied for wins over both the NAIA foes to go 2-1 on the weekend while moving to 5-3 overall.
Four different Maverick women were undefeated in singles play as
Catalina Ballon Marin went 3-0 at No. 4 while
Makenna Livingston,
Jade Brilhante and
Jane Steur all went 2-0 with one other match left unfinished. In doubles, Brilhante and Rodriguez went 2-0 with a match unfinished in the top flight while Livingston and Maier were 2-0 in the second flight.
On the men's side,
Romain Payan and
Emil Hultman both went 2-0 in singles play while
Philemon Jabin and
Diogo Manzano were 2-1. Hultman and Jabin were also 2-1 together at No. 1 doubles while
William Leschig and
Henry Scheck went 2-0 with another match left unfinished In the second flight.
Full recaps from the matches can be found here:
Winning in D2
Both Maverick teams now have winning records against Division II foes this season, which is going to be the more important mark when the Mavs will learn their fate for the PacWest or NCAA Championship qualification aspirations later this spring. Matches against NAIA or NCAA Division I or III opponents will not be considered.
Twelve of the 17 PacWest women's teams will be picked for the conference tournament while eight of the 12 men's teams will qualify.
Four men's and four women's squads will receive NCAA Tournament spots in the West Region with the PacWest Champions earning automatic qualification.
The CMU men, who went 3-0 in the fall, are now 3-1 against Division II foes while the Maverick women are 3-2 after their win over Western New Mexico. CMU's women were 2-2 in the fall.
Team of the Week
Thanks to their 3-0 team record, the Maverick women were named as this week's Pacific West Conference Women's Tennis Team of the Week, which was announced on Tuesday.
The CMU women had also won that award on Feb. 20, 2024, after similarly going 3-0 in last year's trip to Arizona.
Doubles is Everything… For the Women
The Maverick women the doubles point in all three duals last week, going an impressive 6-1 in all of the completed doubles matches while leading one of the two others that were left unfinished in duals that were played to clinch.
The Mavericks are now a perfect 5-0 as a team when winning the doubles point this year but are 0-4 when they have lost it.
However, the doubles results have not meant nearly as much for the Maverick men, who have won the doubles point in just three of their eight duals thus far. The Mavs are 2-1 as a team in those three duals but have also posted a winning 3-2 team record after falling behind in the overall dual.
Emil for the Win
Emil Hultman went 2-0 last weekend in singles play last weekend and was up a set in his other unfinished match. The Swede now has the Mavs' best overall singles record at 8-5 and has gone 5-2 in duals, including a 5-1 record at No. 15.
Hultman also paired with
Philemon Jabin for a pair of doubles victories in the top flight last weekend.
In the process, the junior reached the 50-win mark for his career. He is now 31-24 in singles and 19-23 in doubles throughout his 2 ½-year Maverick career.
Speaking of 50
Fellow Maverick juniors
William Leschig and
Henry Scheck have also surpassed the 50-win mark this season. Scheck leads all active Maverick men with 53 wins, having recorded a 31-26 singles mark throughout his career along with 22 doubles victories.
Leschig, his current doubles partner, is right behind with 52 career victories, thanks to his 27-36 singles record and 25-33 doubles mark.
On the women's side,
Delia Maier is now just one win away from the 50 mark. She Is 24-26 in singles and 25-21 in doubles during her three years as a Mav.
February + Arizona = Wins
Last week's trip to Arizona marked the fifth straight year that the Mavs have taken a trip to the Grand Canyon state in the month of February to play the same opponents in Western New Mexico, Arizona Christian and Ottawa.
Both teams have enjoyed their time in the warmer weather, with the Maverick women going a combined 13-2 in those matches. The Maverick men have also posted some modest success, going 7-8 combined.
Know You Foes (Men's Opponents)
Hastings (Friday- 8 a.m. CST/7 a.m. Mountain)
The Broncos are 0-4 as a team so far this spring, having last played on Sunday against MSU Denver in Lexington, Nebraska. They dropped that match 7-0 after taking two weeks off.
Earlier in the winter, the Broncos played in the Ernest Grundy Tennis Center in Kearny, falling to McPherson (6-1), Nebraska-Kearney (7-0) and Saint Mary (6-1) on successive days from Jan. 31-Feb. 2.
Ben Hafer and Nick Smeltzer have the lone two singles wins for the team this spring. They have gone a combined 0-12 in the doubles matches so far.
Nebraska-Kearney (Friday- 1 p.m. CST/Noon Mountain)
The Loper men currently sport a 4-6 record but have dropped four of their last five. However, they were able to snap a 4-match slide with a 4-3 home win over MSU Denver on Saturday.
Jip Mens sits in the No. 19 spot of the ITA Central Region rankings from the end of the fall while Aaron Osmond and Tom van den Dungen are ranked ninth in the region for doubles.
Mens has a stellar 9-1 singles record in duals this season, playing everywhere between the first and fourth flights, mostly commonly at No. 2, where he delivered the dual clinching win over MSU Denver's Alejandro Jimenez. Mens is also 6-4 in doubles, including a 4-2 record with Andy Brisdon in the No. 2 and 3 positions.
The doubles lineup has been in flux with 12 different combinations through their ten matches, although Brisdon, who has a 7-3 overall doubles record, and Mens have played together in four straight and six of the seven duals this spring.
Osmond and van den Dungen have not played together this spring.
Rockhurst (Saturday- 12:30 p.m. CST/11:30 a.m. Mountain)
The Hawks are 1-2 in duals this year, having dropped tight 4-3 decisions to Midwestern State and MSU Denver on the last two Fridays. They did defeat William Jewell by a 6-1 score in the fall.
The Hawks have a pair of nationally-ranked singles players in No. 10 Semyon Tsyrenov and No. 21 Louis Keiner, who also occupy the No. 1 and 3 spots, respectively, in the ITA's Central Regional Rankings, all of which was based on fall results. Tsyrenov qualified for and went 1-2 at the ITA Cup in October after winning the ITA Central Regional crown. Keiner reached the semifinals.
However, Tsyrenov has gone just 1-2 in duals in the No. 1 spot of the Hawk lineup, dropping his only two spring matches while Keiner is 2-1 at the No. 2 spot, going 1-1 this spring.
Creed Skinner is also ranked 20
th in the Central Region and is 2-1 in duals.
Skinner and Tsyrenov are 2-1 in doubles as a pair while Arnav Gannavaram and Josef Truhlar are 2-0 in the No. 3 spot.
Know You Foes (Women's Opponents)
Hastings (Friday- 8 a.m. CST/7 a.m. Mountain)
The Broncos are currently 0-5 as a team and have dropped three of their four spring matches by 7-0 counts to McPherson, Nebraska-Kearney and MSU Denver. The NAIA squad did get two singles wins from Victoria Harris and Paige Willcoxon at No. 2 and 4 in their Feb. 2 dual against Saint Mary (Kan.), which they lost 4-2. Harris and Josline Carter also won their No. 1 doubles match against the Spires although the Bronco women have not managed any other wins this spring.
Nebraska-Kearney (Friday- 5 p.m. CST/4 p.m. Mountain)
The Lopers are currently ranked 16
th in the ITA's NCAA Division II Rankings, which were most recently released on Wednesday. They had been 14
th in the Jan. 15 rankings heading into the spring.
The Lopers are 5-1 as a team this season, including a 2-1 mark in the spring, which has included a 4-3 win over Lubbock Christian and a 6-1 win over MSU Denver. They did fall 4-1 to Augustana, currently ranked 17
th in Division II. All three of their spring matches plus a 7-0 exhibition win over Hastings on Feb. 2 have been played at home.
They have two nationally-ranked singles players in No 22 Fabiana Gamboa No. 35 Narindra Ranaivo, based on fall results. Gamboa has a 5-1 dual meet mark while Ranaivo is 4-1 in the top two flights. Both reached the semifinals of the ITA Central Regional Championships in September.
Gamboa and Ranaivo also sit third and fourth in the ITA's Central Region rankings while Tanyaradzwa Mitzi is 18
th. Ranaivo and Mitzi are also ranked eighth in the region for doubles and are 6-0 as a duo in duals this season.
The Lopers are also a perfect 17-0 in doubles matches in duals this season.
Rockhurst (Saturday- 12:30 p.m. CST/11:30 a.m. Mountain)
The Hawk women are 2-1 in duals this season and have blanked both William Jewell and MSU Denver, 7-0. The win over MSU Denver was this past Friday (Feb. 14). They had William Jewell in the fall on Oct. 6. The Hawks' lone loss was by a 6-1 score to fifth-ranked Midwestern State on Feb. 7.
Ella Coleman, who was ranked sixth in the ITA Central Regional Rankings after the fall is 3-0 in the top flight. Four other Hawk players are 2-1 in the No. 2-5 positions during team duals.
The Hawks have been a bit vulnerable in doubles play, combining for a 4-4 doubles record However, they did win the doubles point in both of their 7-0 wins.
Series Histories (Men)
The Maverick men are 7-0 all-time against Hastings, including a pair of fairly recent victories in 2021 and 2023, both of which have been 7-0 Maverick victories.
CMU is 11-20 all-time against Nebraska-Kearney but defeated the Lopers for the first time since 2010 during the fall season on Sept. 13 during the Mavs' 3-0 weekend at the Pueblo Duals.
The Lopers, who resumed their men's program in 2023-24 after a several year hiatus, had won the previous 12 match-ups.
The Mavs are 1-1 all-time against Rockhurst. They defeated the Hawks on Feb. 9 of last year by a tight 4-3 margin as the Mavs fought back to win the final three singles matches.
Henry Scheck delivered the clinching win by a 10-5 tie-breaker margin after splitting the first two sets by Gustavo Gil.
The only other previous meeting was in 2011.
Series Histories (Women)
The Mavericks have dominated Hastings over the years, winning all five match-ups by 9-0 or 7-0 margins in the current scoring method. The last meeting was on Feb. 10, 2023 in Kearney.
The Mavs are 0-2 against Rockhurst. They played on Feb. 9 of last season in Kearney, with the Hawks claiming a 6-1 win.
The Mavs have a much more extensive rivalry with Nebraska-Kearney, who both were long time rivals in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, which no longer sponsors tennis. UNK leads the all-time series, 25-16, including a 7-0 win in the fall (Sept. 13) during the Pueblo Duals.
The Lopers have won four straight decisions since CMU's last win in 2021. UNK has won 15 of the last 16 match-ups.
Up Next
The Mavs will be off next weekend before the CMU teams will split on the following weekend.
The CMU women will next be in action on Mar. 7, when they heat to St. George, Utah to face NCAA Division I Utah Tech.
The Maverick men will host Hawai'i-Hilo in a doubleheader on Mar. 9, their first two home matches of the season.
