GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University women's lacrosse team will open up the 2026 season with a 3-game swing through Florida where the Mavs will take on a trio of nationally-ranked teams.
 
The Mavs will be coming off a successful 2025 season that saw them go 11-6 while winning a share of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season title with a 9-1 record before hosting the conference tournament for the first time in program history.
 
The Mavs will look to continue upon that success and return four first team and eight total All-RMAC honorees from a year ago.
 
Florida Trip details
 
The Mavs will open the campaign on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. EST (5 p.m. Mountain) against tenth-ranked Saint Leo before heading to Winter Park to face No. 19 Rollins on Friday at the same time.  The Mavs will then wrap up the trip on Sunday (Feb. 15) in Boca Raton at No. 11 Lynn.  That game will begin at 1 p.m. EST (11 a.m. Mountain).
 
All three games will be streamed for free on the Sunshine State Network Digital Network.
 
Live statistics for each can be found at the links above.
 
Full recaps will also be posted on www.cmumavericks.com following each of the games.
 
Co-Favorites/Matching Finishes
 
After sharing the RMAC regular season title in 2025, the Mavericks and the Regis University Rangers shared the top spot in the conference's preseason coaches' poll.
 
The Mavericks and Rangers both picked up three first place votes and were second on two other ballots apiece to finish atop the poll 23 points.
 
UCCS finished third in the poll with 17 points after taking third in the RMAC standings last year while Westminster was picked fourth with 13 points after taking fourth in the RMAC standings a year ago.
 
CSU Pueblo (9) and Fort Lewis (5) continued the trend matching their 2025 finishes and 2026 poll position.
 
Preseason Plaudits
 
The Mavericks also led the RMAC with four selections to the preseason all-conference team, which is made up of the top returning players from last year's All-RMAC voting process in each position.
 
The Mavs' picks include seniors Justine Anderson and Courtney Havel, who have won the last two RMAC Attacker of the Year honors as well as sophomore defender Sadie Chappuis and sophomore goalkeeper Heather Hawkins.
 
All four were amongst the Mavs' six first team all-conference honorees from a year ago.
 
Preseason All-Americans
 
Justine Anderson and Courtney Havel were also both named to the USA Lacrosse Magazine's Preseason All-America list.
 
Anderson was a third team pick while Havel was an honorable mention selection.
 
Anderson, who hails from Colorado Springs, was named to the magazine's honorable mention all-America squad in 2024 after earning that year's RMAC Attacker of the Year honor.  She is also a 3-time First Team All-RMAC selection and 2-time IWLCA Second Team All-Midwest Region honoree and scored 39 goals last year and 120 throughout her Maverick career thus far.
 
Havel, a Lake Oswego, Oregon native, led the Mavericks with 46 goals a year ago was named as the RMAC Attacker of the Year.  She was also an USA Lacrosse Magazine Honorable Mention All-American and Second Team IWLCA All-Midwest Region pick last season.
 
Award Winners Return
 
In addition to the four Preseason All-RMAC selections, the Mavericks will also return the services of three other all-conference honorees from last year in Second Team All-RMAC midfielder Courteney Murray, honorable mention attacker Ella Freemon and honorable mention defender Olivia Turk.
 
Murray (19) and Freemon (16) combined for 35 goals last season white Turk was third on the Maverick squad with 32 ground balls and fourth with 20 caused turnovers last season.
 
Coach's Corner
 
Ashley Delaney will begin her third year as the Mavs' head coach and her seventh on the CMU staff after serving as an assistant for the four previous seasons from 2020-23.
 
The Mavs have gone 11-6 in both of Delaney's previous years as a head coach and posted a 33-19 combined record in her four years as an assistant under two previous head coaches. 

She was named as the RMAC Coach of the Year in 2025 after leading the Mavs to a share of the RMAC Regular Season Championship and to hosting rights of the RMAC Tournament for the first time in program history.
 
She also helped the Mavs win a share of the RMAC crown in 2023 when she was an assistant coach.  The Mavericks are a combined 55-31 with her on the coaching staff and have played in all five RMAC Tournament Championship games with her on the staff.
 
She is 0-1 against Saint Leo as a head coach but has not been the head coach against Rollins nor Lynn.
 
Know Your Foes
 
Saint Leo
 
The Lions, ranked tenth, are coming off a 13-6 season in 2025 but dropped their 2026 opener on Saturday to 12^th-ranked Flagler by an 18-11 margin on Saturday.
 
They were picked fourth in the Sunshine State Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll and return four of their five leading point scorers from a year ago in Jana Nuss, Holly Hill, Sophia Wood and Natalie Jones.  They also return four All-SSC honorees in Nuss, Hill, Meredith Eitel and Abby Richards.
 
Goalie Jessica Harclerode also returns for her senior season after picking up Third Team USA Lacrosse Magazine All-America honors last year.  She and Nuss were both tabbed as preseason all-Americans by the magazine as well.
 
They both recorded milestone moments in Saturday's game as Nuss scored her 100^th career goal while Harclerode passed the 500 save mark, making 13.
 
Wood and Hill had three goals to lead the Lions attack while Hill added two assists.  Briana Bellando and Grace DeWitt also scored twice.
 
Rollins
 
The Tars, are ranked 19^th in the national preseason poll and went 8-8 in 2025.
 
They got off to a good start in 2026, squeaking past 24^th-ranked Florida Tech by a 15-14 in double overtime on Saturday night.
 
Gabby Yerardi scored the game-winning goal on woman-down play as one eight different goal scorers.
 
Tom Kienle is in his first year as the Tars' head coach after taking over for Dennis Short, who retired following the 2025 season.
 
Katie Bell led the team in goals with 42 last year and returns for her junior season.  Goalkeeper Angelina Vitale also returns for her junior season after going 7-4 with 56 saves and a 11.31 goals against average last year.
 
The Tars were tabbed seventh out of eight teams in the Sunshine State Conference's Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
Lynn
 
The Fighting Knights went 15-5 last year and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the second round with a 16-15 opening round win over Flagler.  They went 4-3 in Sunshine State Conference play but dropped an 11-10 decision to Saint Leo in the opening round of the conference tournament.
 
They have been picked fifth in the SSC Preseason Coaches' Poll and were picked 11^th in the IWLCA Division II Preseason Poll.
 
The were also tabbed tenth in the USA Lacrosse Magazine Poll.  The magazine also tabbed Rebecca Clark as a Second Team Preseason All-American and Elizabeth Clagett as an honorable mention selection.
 
Clark led the SSC in ground balls (73) and caused turnovers (42) while racking up 92 points, 55 goals and 64 draw controls last year.  Clagett had 42 goals and 18 assists while recording 59 draw controls last season.
 
The Fighting Knights will open the 2026 campaign at Florida Southern on Friday before returning home to face the Mavs on Sunday.
 
Series Histories
 
The Mavs are 2-3 all-time against and at Saint Leo and are 0-2 against Rollins.  They have never played Lynn.
 
The Mavs played at Saint Leo on Mar. 1 last season, falling 18-10.
 
The last game against Rollins was on Mar. 23, 2023, a game the Tars won 13-9.
 
RMAC Network News
 
All of the Mavs' home and RMAC road games, will be streamed on the RMAC Network, which has moved to a pay-per-view model for the 2025-26 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 $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours.
 
Additionally, a discounted annual subscription price will be available to students, faculty, and staff of each member institution throughout the year. Purchasing options and pricing for individual RMAC Championships will be announced closer to each event.
 
Colorado Mesa turns 100
 
The CMU Century Celebration stands as the cornerstone of Colorado Mesa University's year-long centennial celebration. This ambitious initiative unites our community in honoring a rich heritage while boldly envisioning the next hundred years of academic excellence.

Led by the Steering Committee and six specialized sub-committees, we're orchestrating a transformative experience that will resonate through generations. Each committee brings unique expertise to create an unforgettable commemoration of our past, present and future.
 
To learn more about Colorado Mesa's 100-year celebration, visit cmucentury.com.
 
Up Next
 
The Mavericks will return home for their next three games, all of which will be non-conference affairs.  That stretch begins on Sunday, Feb. 22 against Missouri Western State, which will also play neutral site games at the Mavs' Community Hospital Unity Field against Westminster on Feb. 20 and Fort Lewis on Feb. 24.