GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The nation's eighth-ranked Colorado Mesa University women's wrestling team will open the 2026-27 with a pair of weekend home competitions in Brownson Arena.
 
The Mavericks, who will not compete at home again until February, will open up the campaign with their annual Fall Brawl dual on Saturday evening at 5 p.m. when they take on Texas Woman's University in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dual.
 
CMU will then host Sunday's Maverick Open, which will begin at 9 a.m. with action on three mats.
 
That tournament has already drawn 185 total entrants, representing ten different schools as well as more than 20 unattached wrestlers.
 
Tickets are available for both events at www.cmumavericks.com/tickets.
 
Follow the Action
 
Saturday's dual will be streamed on the RMAC Network, which can be accessed with a subscription to the service (more information below).
 
Live scoring can also be found on TrackWrestling.com at this link.
 
Sunday's tournament will also be streamed, without commentary, on separate feeds on the RMAC Network.
 
The brackets and results will be available here.
 
Full recaps will be posted on www.cmumavericks.com each night.
 
RMAC Network News
 
The RMAC Network will again use a pay-per-view model for the 2026-27 season.  This season, all RMAC athletic events broadcast by its 15 full-member institutions and associate members will only be available for purchase via 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.
 
RMAC fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them with access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $12.50, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours.
 
A championship pass, available for $15, will also be available for the RMAC Championships and is included in the monthly or annual subscription.
 
To purchase a pass, visit https://rmacnetwork.com/purchase/.
 
National Rankings
 
The Mavericks will open up the season ranked eighth as a team in the National Wrestling Coaches Association's Preseason rankings that were released on Oct. 23.
 
The Mavs have 27 points in those rankings, compiled via a Tournament Power Index from the individual rankings in each of the ten weight classes.
 
The Mavs have three ranked individuals in Mia Zuniga, Adriana Gomez and Lorianna Piestewa, all of whom are ranked fourth in their respective weight classes of 103, 110 and 124 pounds.  All three are returning all-Americans from last year's inaugural NCAA Women's Wrestling Championships.
 
Zuniga, who also earned NCWWC All-America honors while at King University in 2024-25, went 23-9 last season and finished eighth at the national champions.
 
Gomez set a program-record with 32 wins last season and also placed eighth at the national tournament to earn her all-America honor.  She also won the RMAC Championship and went 4-0 in RMAC duals last year.
 
Piestewa finished fourth at the NCAA Championships last year and finished third at the NCWWC Championships in 2025.  She was 27-8 overall last year.
 
Regional Rankings
 
The Mavericks also have seven regionally-ranked wrestlers in the NWCA's Preseason Rankings.  Gretchen Donally is ranked first at 145 pounds in Region 6 while Zuniga, Gomez and Piestewa are all ranked second.
 
Transfer Jaclyn Dehney is third at 138 pounds while Sophia Cornish (124) and Thalia Vogelsang (131) are both ranked fourth.
 
RMAC Preseason
 
The Mavericks have also been picked second as a team in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was announced on Oct. 15.  The Mavs picked up two first place votes and were tabbed second on three other ballots to finish the poll with 22 points, just one shy of Simon Fraser, which topped the poll while picking up three first place votes.
 
Additionally, the Mavs also had two representatives on the Preseason All-RMAC team, announced in conjunction with the poll.  That team is made up of the highest returning finisher in each weight class from last year's RMAC Championships.
 
Adriana Gomez (110) and Sophia Cornish (117) were the Mavs' two representatives.
 
Cornish went 25-11 and won the RMAC title last year.
 
International Competition
 
Five Maverick team members will get an early start to the season competing at the New York Athletic Club in the Bill Farrell Memorial International tournament on Friday.
 
The prestigious tournament, which has been a tradition for more than 60 years, is sanctioned by United World Wrestling (UWW) and is one of the most significant wrestling tournament in North America and gives a platform for elite wrestlers to demonstrate their talent and compete in the heart of New York City.
 
Action is slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. EST (7:30 a.m. Mountain).
 
The Mavs, who will represent the Colorado Mesa Wrestling Club at the tournament are:
 
50kg - Adriana Gomez
57kg - Thalia Vogelsang
62kg - Jaclyn Dehney
68kg - Gretchen Donally
72kg - Eloise Woolsey
 
More information about the tournament can be found here.
 
Probable Dual Lineup
 
Here is a look at the Mavericks' probable lineup for Sunday's dual as provided by Maverick Head Coach Travis Mercado.  Each wrestler's 2025-26 season record is in parenthesis.
 
Notably, three or Maverick newcomers are expected to make their CMU debuts
 
That list includes freshmen Amelia Bacon and Lauren Zaragoza at 124 and 131 pounds as well as transfer Jaclyn Dehney at 138 pounds.  Eloise Woosley, a freshman, is also a possible starter at 145 pounds.
 
Bacon was a 2-time state champion at Vista Peak Prep while Zaragoza won a California state title and three state championship medals for Brawley Union High School.
 
Dehney, who hails from Pelham, New Hampshire, is joining the Mavericks after earning 2025 NCWWC All-America honors before qualifying for the inaugural NCAA Championships last year while competing for the New England College Pilgrims.  She also won the Region 1 Championship in both years and went 16-2 last year while recording a 30-2 record with 28 pins and a 22-match winning streak in 2024-25.
 
Woolsey was a 4-time state and regional champion for the V. Sue Cleveland High School Storm.  She also won the Fargo junior national championship.
 
103 - #4 Mia Zuniga (23-9) or Maddi Heinzer (2-3)
110 - #4 Adriana Gomez (32-15)
117 - Sophia Cornish (25-11)
124 - Amelia Bacon
131 - Lauren China Zaragoza
138 - Jaclyn Dehney (16-2 @ New England College)
145 - Delarie Juarez (9-9)
160 - Gretchen Donally (29-12) or Eloise Woolsey
180 - Taylor Colangelo (13-8)
207 - Alena Bartley (2-8)
 
About the Pioneers
 
The Pioneers are beginning their fifth season and are coming off a winning 2025-26 dual-meet season that saw them go 6-4 overall and 1-3 in RMAC duals to place fourth in the conference standings.
 
They also finished fourth at the RMAC Championships with 131 points and had three podium finishers in 124-pound runner-up Brooke Zejda and third place finishers Poorna Babu (160) and Samaria Barnett (180).
 
They then had three wrestlers finish in the top six at the NCAA Region VI Championships but failed to qualify a wrestler for the national tournament for the first time in program history.  Barnett finished fourth at 180 pounds while Mackenize Blue, took sixth at 145 pounds.  Both return to the Pioneer lineup this season.
 
The Pioneers took ninth out of 15 teams at the regional with 42 ½ points.
 
The Pioneers have three regionally-ranked wrestlers in the preseason.  Blue is ranked third at 145 pounds while Barnett is ranked third at 180.  Kitana Leofatoto is ranked fourth at 207 pounds.
 
Here is a look at Texas Woman's Probable Lineup for Saturday night's dual
 
103 - Alexa Rodriguez
110 - Sloan Stewart
117 - Ashlee Marron Rodriguez or Heidi Caprio
124 - TBA
131-  Kaylynn Lyons
138 - Jordyn Parker
145 - Mackenzie Blue
160 - Londyn Jefferson
180 - Samaria Barnett
207 - Kitana Leofatato

Series History
 
The Mavs are a perfect 5-0 in duals against TWU.  They are 2-0 against them at home, having won 38-6 during last year's Fall Brawl on Nov. 1 and by a 34-14 margin in the 2022 Fall Brawl, in the Pioneers' first season.
 
CMU also has won twice in Denton, Texas and posted a 41-6 win over the Pioneers early in the 2024-25 season while wrestling in the neutral venue of Alamosa, Colorado and Adams State's Plachy Hall.
 
The Mavs won nine of the ten matches in last year's dual, recording three pins and three technical falls.
 
To see the results and a recap of last year's dual, click here.
 
Home Mat Dominance
 
In official action, the Mavericks are now 17-1 all-time in home duals in their previous eight  seasons and have won 17 consecutive times inside Brownson Arena, a streak they will look to continue on Saturday.  The Mavs' only home dual loss came on Oct. 27, 2018, the very first day of the program's history to then NAIA No. 1 Wayland Baptist.
 
The Mavs went 4-0 at home last season.
 
Tournament Details
 
A majority of the Maverick roster is expected to wrestle in Sunday's tournament.  Ten total teams plus over 20 unattached wrestlers are already entered for the event, which will be contested on three mats throughout the day, starting at  9 a.m.
 
The list of visiting teams includes three RMAC opponents in Texas Woman's, who will stay overnight, Adams State and Western Colorado, which is sponsoring women's wrestling for the first time this season.  NAIA Arizona Christian and junior college teams from Fort Hays State Tech Northwest, Otero Junior College and Snow College will also compete along with club teams from Colorado State and Utah Tech.
 
As of Thursday morning, here is a list of the 25 Mavericks that entered the event broken up by weight class.
 
103 (4): Kinlee Brandley, Maddi Heinzer, Alissa Perez, Serah Yogi
110 (1): Adriana Gomez
117 (2): Kiera Hersel, Sophia Cornish
124 (4): Amelia Bacon, Kylee Golz, Brooke McCurley, Jojo McDaniel
131(3): Bella Terrian, Thalia Vogelsang, Lauren China Zaragoza
138 (2): Jaclyn Dehney, Apple Middleton
145 (2): Delarie Juarez, Myka Martinez
160 (3): Gretchen Donally, Abygayle England, Eloise Woolsey
180 (3): Taylor Colangelo, Gianna Falise, Shylee Tuzon
207 (1): Alena Bartley
 
A look back to the 2025 open
 
The Mavericks had four champions and a total of 20 wrestlers who placed in the top six of the 2025 Maverick Open.  The Mavs had at least one top six finisher at every weight class, including four at 117 pounds.
 
Gretchen Donally is the lone Maverick champion who is slated to compete again this year.  She did not surrender a single point and posted four 10-0 wins en route to the 145-pound victory last year.
 
Lorianna Piestewa also returns to the CMU roster this year but is not expected to wrestle this weekend due to injury.
 
Hania Halverson and Jayleen Sekona also won last year but have both graduated.
 
Champion of the Americas
 
Gretchen Donally won a gold medal at the U20 Pan-American games while representing Team USA this summer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, helping the United States take the team title.  The Ballantine, Montana native who is back for her junior year this season then went on to compete at the U20 World Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia.
 
Check out this feature story and video package about Donally's summer.
 
Road Warriors
 
Saturday's dual is one of just three the Mavs will host this year.  Their only other home duals will be on Feb. 5 and 6 against Western Colorado and Adams State, respectively.
 
Between Sunday's home tournament and then, the Mavericks will go on trips to Utah, Kansas, Illinois for fall semester open and invitational tournaments.  They will then return to dual action at the Desert Duals on Dec. 20 in Las Vegas and at the NWCA National Duals on Jan. 8-9 in Cedar Falls, Iowa on both sides of a brief holiday break.
 
A trip to short trip to Gunnison for the Maverick back-ups on that same that weekend then precedes back-to-back trips to tournaments Nebraska on Jan. 16 and Jan. 23 with a RMAC dual at Chadron State sandwiched in between.
 
CMU will then compete at the RMAC Championships on Jan. 30 at the United States Air Force Academy before the aforementioned home duals against Western Colorado and Adams State.
 
The Mavs will then compete at the NCAA Super Region VI Championships, which will be hosted by Fort Hays State in Hays, Kansas this year on Feb. 19-20.  The NCAA Championships will then be contested Mar. 5-6 and will once again be held in Coralville, Iowa.
 
Up Next
 
The Mavericks plan to send a partial squad of mostly younger wrestlers to the Cornerman Luke Open, hosted by Snow College in Ephraim, Utah next Saturday (Nov. 14).