GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University tennis teams will head to Kearney, Nebraska and the Ernest Grundy Tennis Center for three indoor matches on Friday and Saturday.
The Maverick men and women will both take on NAIA Hastings College at 1 p.m. CST (Noon Mountain) on Friday afternoon before facing a fellow NCAA Division II foe in Northwest Missouri State University later that evening at 6 p.m. CST (5 p.m. Mountain). The Mavs will then wrap-up the weekend on Saturday facing the host University of Nebraska-Kearney Lopers on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. CST (8 a.m. Mountain).
The Hastings matches will be
live streamed here.
Results and full recaps from each day will be posted on at
www.cmumavericks.com each night.
Last Time Out (Men)
The Maverick men played their first two duals of the season last Saturday, taking on Division I Idaho State in Pocatello in a doubleheader. The Bengals won both matches 7-0.
The Mavs did pick up a doubles win from
Emil Hultman and
Diogo Manzano in the second fight during the afternoon dual. Hultman also won the first set of his No. 3 singles contest that afternoon.
Full results and the day's recap
can be seen here.
Last Time Out (Women)
The Maverick women also met up with Idaho State for a Sunday doubleheader. The Bengals won the first match 6-1 and took the second, 7-0.
Playing for the first time this season after sitting out during the fall, Dutch senior
Jane Steur won her No. 6 singles match in the morning. She did not play in doubles or the afternoon singles slate.
CMU had gone 2-1 in duals during the fall and now stands with a 2-3 overall record. However, the Mavs are 2-0 against fellow NCAA Division II foes heading into this week as their three losses have come against Division I and III foes.
ITA Rankings
The Mavericks' fall success translated into some strong rankings in the
Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) national and regional rankings.
Devyn Rodriguez ended the fall ranked 35
th in the national singles rankings and was fourth in the West Region rankings on the women's side.
Jade Brilhante was also slotted 14
th in the regional singles rankings.
In doubles,
Catalina Ballon and
Delia Maier are ranked fourth in the West region while Hartman and Gonzalez are tabbed seventh.
On the men's side,
Henry Scheck and
William Leschig are ranked fifth in the doubles rankings.
Emil Hultman and Scheck are ranked 19
th and 20
th in the regional singles rankings, respectively.
Men's Probable Lineup
Here is a look at the projected lineup for this weekend's duals, as announced by Head Coach
Dan MacDonald. Each players and doubles duo's overall 2025-26 record is parenthesis.
Singles
- Henry Scheck (3-7; 0-2 in duals)
- Diogo Manzano (3-7; 0-2)
- Emil Hultman (7-3, 0-2)
- William Leschig (4-6; 0-2)
- Jamison Pfingston (1-2, 0-1)
- Gavin Hutter (4-6; 0-2)
Doubles
- Leschig/Scheck (5-4; 0-2)
- Hultman/Manzano (4-4; 1-1)
- Pfingston/Andrew Lock (0-1; 0-1)
Women's Probable Lineup
Singles
- Devyn Rodriguez (9-4, 2-3 in duals)
- Valentina Gonzalez (5-4, 3-2)
- Jade Brilhante (5-6, 1-4)
- Catalina Ballon (6-5, 2-3)
- Delia Maier (6-4, 3-2)
- Jane Steur (1-0, 1-0)
Doubles
- Brilhante/Rodriguez (3-4, 2-3)
- Ballon/Maier (7-4, 2-3)
- Gonzalez/Hartman (8-2, 3-2)
Know Your Men's Foes
Hastings
The Broncos started their spring season last week, falling 6-1 to Sterling (Kan.) at home last Friday (Feb. 6) before dropping a 7-0 decision to McPherson (Kan.) in the Ernest Grundy Tennis Center in Kearney.
Aden Ingwerson delivered a 6-0, 6-0 No. 6 singles win in the match against Sterling while Ethan Mins and Gavin Watterson were 6-1 winners at No. 3 doubles.
The Broncos were swept by McPherson.
Last year's Bronco team went 3-13 overall and were 0-6 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference.
Sophomores Joel Carter and senior Ethan Mins qualified for UTA NAIA National Tournament last fall.
Five of the Broncos' seven players hail from Nebraska while two are from Colorado.
Northwest Missouri State
The Bearcats, who hail from Maryville, opened their spring season last Friday falling to No. 18 Midwestern State in a neutral-site match-up in Arkansas City, Kansas.
Their two match wins came at No. 5 and 6 singles from Antonin Leborne and Hugo Alvarez Gonzalez, who both beat their Mustang counterparts in straight sets.
Elsewhere in the Bearcat lineup are Bernardo Henriques and Pavel Vysotin, who ended the fall ranked seventh and tenth, respectively in the ITA's Central Regional Rankings. Yvsotin played at No. 2 singles in the opener while Henriques was at No. 4.
Last year's squad went 12-9 overall and 7-2 in the MIAA before falling in their MIAA Tournament opener against Southern Arkansas.
Nebraska-Kearney
The Lopers are 3-0 heading into a Thursday match with NCAA Division I Creighton in Omaha. They will also take on Pratt Community College in a home exhibition on Friday before facing the Mavs.
Four Lopers in Andy Briston (3-0), Alex Jaulin (3-0), Ilan Fuentes (2-0) and Jakub Strzelecki (2-0) are all undefeated in singles this spring while Brisdon and Ivan Melnik are both 3-0 at No. 1 doubles.
Brisdon is ranked 35th nationally according to the ITA . He is also fourth in the Central Regional Rankings while Melnik is slotted eighth in the singles rankings. They are ranked fourth as a doubles duo.
The Lopers finished the 2024-25 campaign with an 11-14 record.
Know Your Women's Foes
Hastings
The Bronco women will carry a 2-0 record into this weekend after prevailing over a short-handed Sterling (Kan.) by a 6-1 count at home last Friday. They also defeated Nebraska Wesleyan in the fall.
The Broncos picked up forfeit wins at No. 5 and 6 singles and at No. 3 doubles last week and split the other two doubles matches to seize the doubles point. Josline Carter, Paige Willcoxon and Lexi Benson also won straight set decisions at No. 2, 3 and 4 singles, respectively.
Carter and Victoria Harris represented the team at the UTR NAIA National Tournament in the fall.
Last year's team finished 9-12 overall and 2-4 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference.
Northwest Missouri State
The Bearcats are 1-1 thus far in 2025-26, defeating Minnesota State by a 6-1 count in a September match before falling eighth-ranked Midwestern State last Friday in a neutral site encounter in Arkansas City, Kansas.
Polina Agapitova won her No. 6 singles match 6-3, 6-3 against the Mustangs, who swept the other five singles matches and all three doubles match-ups.
Last year's Bearcat squad went 16-9 and won a share of the MIAA regular season title before taking second in the MIAA Tournament. They also qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
Miru Nonaka earned Second Team All-MIAA honors in doubles a year ago and ended the fall campaign ranked tenth in the ITA's Central Regional Singles Rankings.
Nebraska-Kearney
The Lopers have a 1-1 official record this spring after opening the season in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where they beat Sioux Falls, 7-0 on Jan. 30 before dropping a 4-1 decision to Augustana on the following day.
They also played exhibition matches against Gustavus Adolphus and Morningside last weekend.
The Lopers have gone a combined 7-3 in singles play so far this season. Patricija Cechanaviciute, ranked 12
th in the ITA's Central Regional Rankings after the fall, is 2-0 in the top flight while Fabiana Gamboa has one win and another unfinished match so far this spring.
The Lopers have also won four of six doubles matches so far, sweeping Sioux Falls before Hannah Klaiber and Julia Wartecka won at No. 2 against Augustana.
UNK is coming off a 20-6 season and a trip to the NCAA Division II National Championships, where they fell to Azusa Pacific in the Round of 16. They had won a Central Regional before that. The Lopers went 8-1 in the MIAA a year ago and were the top seed in the MIAA Tournament after winning a 3-way tiebreaker. However, they fell to Central Oklahoma in the semifinal round of that before avenging the defeat in the opening round of the NCAA Central Regional.
Series Histories (Men)
The Maverick men are a perfect 8-0 against Hastings and have blanked the Broncos in each of the last seven match-ups of the rivalry that has been renewed periodically since 2009, including last season in Kearney.
The Mavs are 0-5 against Northwest Missouri State and last played the Bearcats in 2024 in Kearney. The Bearcats won that dual, 7-0, the first between the teams since 2016.
The Mavs are 11-21 all-time against Nebraska-Kearney. The teams were long time rivals in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Lopers won last springs' match-up in Kearney, 6-1 after the Mavs handed the Lopers a 5-2 loss during the fall of 2024.
Saturday's match-up will be the fourth in the three seasons since the Lopers resumed playing men's tennis in 2023-24 after a 6-year discontinuation of the program.
Series Histories (Women's)
The Mavs are a perfect 6-0 all-time against Hastings and have won all six matches by 7-0 and 9-0 sweeps. They have played three times in the previous five seasons, including last year.
The Mavs are 0-4 against Northwest Missouri State. The last match-up was in 2024 in Kearney, which the Bearcats won 7-0.
The Mavs are 16-26 all-time against Nebraska-Kearney. The teams used to share an intents Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rivalry, which has been continued as non-conference foes. The Lopers have won the last five and 15 of the last 16 contests. CMU's last win was on Feb. 5, 2021.
Alumni Reunion
The Mavericks will host a CMU Tennis Alumni Reunion weekend later this month in conjunction with the Mavs' home matches on Feb. 27 and 28.
For all of the details and to RSVP,
please click here.
Up Next
After playing indoors for the first two weeks of the spring, the Mavs will head to what should be warmer weather in metropolitan Phoenix and play their first three outdoor matches next weekend (Feb. 20-21). They will take on Western New Mexico in a key South Central Regional match at the Paseo Racquet Center in Glendale, Arizona before taking on NAIA Ottawa (Ariz.) later in the day next Friday (Feb. 20) at the Surprise Tennis Center.
They will then wrap up the weekend next Saturday (Feb. 21), facing another NAIA foe in Arizona Christian in Glendale.
