FRESNO, Calif.— The Colorado Mesa University women's tennis team claimed five of the six singles matches, all in straight sets, to register their third road win in as many days by knocking off Fresno Pacific University by a 5-2 margin on Tuesday here at the Sunbirds' Haak Tennis Complex.
 
The victory was CMU's first in six all-time tries against the Sunbirds and pushed the Mavericks' record back above .500 at 9-8.  It was also the Mavs' third in four outings against fellow Pacific West Conference foes in their 7-match, 6-day swing through California that continues through Saturday.
 
FPU fell to 3-12 and has lost five straight.
 
The Mavs dropped the doubles point but were able to rally to win the dual for the first time after doing so this season, comfortably winning a lion's share of the singles matches while showing strong depth.
 
The Mavs dropped just 13 total games in the No. 3 through No. 6 singles matches, winning all eight sets of those matches.  CMU also picked up a key 6-4, 7-5 win in the top flight from senior Makenna Livingston, who bested Yume Ueoku in a battle of nationally-ranked players.  Livingston is ranked 33^rd while Ueoku is touted 21^st in the latest ITA's NCAA Division II Singles Rankings.
 
The Mavs' Catalina Ballon Marin and Jane Steur both went 2-0 in the dual as they teamed for a 6-0 win at No. 3 doubles before the Sunbirds came back to take the No. 1 and 2 doubles affairs by 6-4 and 7-5 scorelines, respectively.
 
However, the momentum quickly changed in singles as Steur blasted Lily Villagomez, 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6 singles to move to 4-0 on the California trip after Ballon Marin was a 6-0, 6-2 winner over Yaila Gutierrez at No. 5 singles.
 
The Sunbirds then leveled the overall score at 2 with a 6-4, 6-2 win from Daimy Paula at No. 2 singles over CMU's Devyn Rodriguez.
 
However, the Mavs and Delia Maier answered back with a 6-4, 6-2 win on Court 4 to take a 3-2 lead in the team battle.  Jade Brilhante then claimed a 6-2, 6-3 win over Halle Faherty at No. 3 singles to clinch the win before Livingston added her victory for good measure.
 
The Mavs will continue their stay in the Golden State and Fresno on Wednesday, when they will take on Menlo and Jessup in a pair of neutral-site match-ups.  Those are slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. PDT, respectively. 
 
In between, the Maverick men will take on Menlo.