COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University women's lacrosse team has been named as a co-favorite to win the 2026 conference title, according to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Preseason Coaches' Poll that was released by conference officials on Thursday.
The Mavericks also placed a conference-leading four players on the Preseason All-RMAC team, which was announced in conjunction with the poll.
The Mavericks were tied with Regis for the top spot in the poll with 23 points after the two teams shared last year's RMAC Regular Season title with a 9-1 conference record. The Mavericks won at Regis early in the season by five goals before the Rangers won by just three goals at CMU in April, which gave the Mavs the right to host the RMAC Tournament for the first time in program history on tie-breaking procedures.
The two teams then tangled again in the RMAC Tournament Championship game for the fifth straight year.
Both teams picked up three first place votes in this year's poll. They voted for each other as coaches were asked to rank their opposition 1-5 without voting for their own squad. The Mavs and Rangers then picked up the other two second place votes.
UCCS was picked third with 17 points, receiving second place votes from CMU and RU while being named third on the other three ballots. Westminster (13), CSU Pueblo (9) and Fort Lewis (5) rounded out the poll.
The Preseason All-RMAC team was made up the leading returning players from last year's All-RMAC voting process.
The Mavericks' picks are attackers
Justine Anderson and
Courtney Havel, defender
Sadie Chappuis and goalkeeper
Heather Hawkins, who all earned First Team All-RMAC honors last year.
Anderson is a 3-time First Team All-RMAC pick and 2-time Second Team Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Association All-Midwest Region pick. She was also named as the RMAC Attacker of the Year and an Honorable Mention USA Lacrosse Magazine Honorable Mention All-American in 2024 and will enter her senior year with a shot at breaking the Mavs' point and goal scoring records.
Havel was tabbed as the RMAC's Attacker of the Year during her 2025 junior campaign, which saw her lead the Mavs with 46 goals. She was also a second team all-region pick and was also named as a
USA Lacrosse Magazine Honorable Mention All-American.
Hawkins was named as the RMAC Freshman and Goalkeeper of the Year in 2025 after leading the conference in goals against average (7.29) and save percentage (.529) during conference play. She was also named to the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Association's National Defensive Player of the Week on Apr. 1 and was later tabbed to the organization's Second Team All-Midwest Region team.
Chappuis helped anchor the Maverick defensive unit, starting all 17 games as a freshman, while finishing second on the team with 34 ground balls and third on the squad with 15 caused turnovers.
The Mavericks will open their season with a 3-game trip to Florida, where they will face a trio of teams ranked in the IWLCA's Preseason Top 25.
CMU will then open up an 8-game home slate on Feb. 22 against Missouri Western State.
The Mavs will also begin RMAC play at home on Mar. 15 against UCCS.
All RMAC women's lacrosse matches broadcast by its member institutions will only be
available on the RMAC Network, with fans able to purchase a single-game pass or a monthly or annual subscription. Revenue generated by the network will be redistributed to the league's membership to enhance their programs.
With the start of the spring sports seasons just around the corner, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is presenting its third RMAC Network "Peak Pricing" sale, beginning Thursday and available until Friday (Jan. 30). During the sale, fans can purchase the final months of an annual subscription for 25% off using the code RMACSPRING26 during the purchasing process.
