GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University women's tennis team will play their first and only duals of the fall season this weekend when they head to the Pueblo City Park Tennis Complex for this Friday and Saturday's Pueblo Duals.
 
The Mavs, who opened up the brief fall campaign in the individual style Colorado College Invitational last week, will play a trio of team matches facing host CSU Pueblo and Fort Hays State on Friday at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., respectively before taking on NCAA Division III  rival Colorado College on Saturday at 9:30 a.m.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Mavericks enjoyed plenty of success at last week's Colorado College Invitational, which was cut short by inclement weather late Sunday morning.  The Mavs did rack up 25 wins in the two singles draws and the doubles draw throughout Saturday and early Sunday morning before the weather rolled in.
 
Devyn Rodriguez went 3-0 in the "A" singles draw and was leading her final while Maverick freshman Sophie Hartman and sophomore Taylor Nokes were slated to play in the "B" singles final after combining for a 5-0 record earlier in the tournament.
 
Hartman and fellow freshman Valentina Gonzalez also went 3-0 in the doubles draw and advanced to the unplayed final.
 
In total, the Mavericks went 17-7 in singles play and were an even more impressive 8-1 in doubles matches.
 
Recaps from both days of the tournament can be found below.
 
Two from 300
 
Maverick Head Coach Dan MacDonald will enter the weekend with 298 women's dual meet wins in his 20 previous seasons with the Mavericks, who could give him his 300^th victory with two wins this weekend.
 
However, MacDonald will not be on-site this weekend as he will be taking the Maverick men to Topeka, Kansas for this weekend's Washburn Invitational.  Instead, he will be turning over the on-court women's coaching duties to long-time assistant David Smith this weekend, a situation the Mavs have repeated numerous times over the years.
 
MacDonald currently holds a 298-235 dual meet record on the women's side in his tenure at CMU.
 
MacDonald also has 227 men's wins.
 
Returning Five
 
MacDonald has returned five starters from last year's team that went 17-13 in duals to enjoy the Mavs' best since 2014.
 
All five of those returning Mavericks won 12 or more singles matches in 2024-25, a list highlighted by Jane Steur, who went 16-8 overall last year.
 
Immediate Contributions
 
The three Maverick freshman on this year's roster all contributed significantly in last week's tournament as the combined for a 4-2 singles record with freshman Sophie Hartman going 2-0 to advance to the "B" singles final.  Keelin Sills went 1-1 and advanced to the semifinals of that draw, where she fell to sophomore teammate Taylor Nokes.
 
Ecuardorian freshman Devyn Rodriguez played in the "A" draw and reached the quarterfinals while going 1-1.
 
In doubles, Hartman and Gonzalez were 3-0 and reached the final, which was not played.  Sills teamed up with Nokes for a 1-1 doubles record last Saturday.
 
Dual Dominance
 
The Mavericks have dominated the recent history with their upcoming opponents.
 
The Mavs have won 44 straight duals against CSU Pueblo and hold a 53-11 record in the series since 1991.  The last 13 of those results have been by 7-0 scores.  The ThunderWolves last win in the rivalry was in 2006.
 
The Mavs also won ten straight decisions and hold a 24-3 all-time series lead against Fort Hays State.  The teams have met in Pueblo every fall since 2014, excluding 2020 due to COVID.  The Mavs won last year's match-up on Sept. 14, 5-2.
 
The Mavs had won 18 straight duals against Colorado College between 2012 and 2025, including a 4-3 win on Apr. 5 in Grand Junction.  However, the Tigers snapped the streak a week later, winning by the same score at home in Colorado Springs on Apr. 12 in the last dual match-up between the teams.
 
Split Squads
 
Although the Maverick men's and women's tennis teams travel together for a majority of their matches, they will be split this weekend as the Maverick men are instead heading to the Washburn Invitational in Topeka, Kansas and will not have any duals this fall.
 
Up Next
 
The Maverick squads will be off from competitive play next week before wrapping up the fall schedule at the ITA West Regional Championships, which will be hosted by Biola in La Mirada, California from Sept. 25-27.