DENVER – The Metropolitan State University of Denver men's and women's tennis teams return to action Thursday when they travel to Colorado Mesa for a 2 p.m. dual at the Elliott Tennis Center.
Cancellations and rescheduled matches due to weather have been the story as of late though, and in times such as these, the Roadrunners have had to maintain conditioning in some form or another.
"These last few weeks have been very tough," MSU Denver coach
Josh Graetz (Albury, Australia/The Scots School) said. "There's been a lot of snow in Denver so practices have been interrupted, but we do have an indoor facility that we practice at down at (Colorado Athletic Club) Inverness so we try to get there as much as possible.
"These last few weeks have been very interrupted which hasn't been ideal for the men's and women's programs. But, we're making it work right now."
The Roadrunners have gotten immediate dividends on both the men's and women's teams from the addition of players at the semester break.
Mateo Besada (Buenos Aires, Argentina/SEADEA) and
David Kijak (Aurora, Colo./Odyssey Charter School (Nev.)) have filled out the men's lineup, while
Eliza McKean (Buderim, Queensland, Australia/Sunshine Coast Grammar School) has immediately contributed on the women's side.
The MSU Denver men (1-3) are hoping to end a skid after the Roadrunners' 5-2 win over Oklahoma Baptist on Feb. 1 in Colorado Springs, Colo. Since then, the Roadrunners have lost three straight matches, though two were to NCAA Division I opponents. Colorado Mesa is 2-4.
Besada, a junior who transferred from Young Harris (Ga.), has put up impressive results, teaming up with senior
Joey Tscherne (Sylmar, Calif./John F. Kennedy) for a No. 1 doubles win against OBU and with sophomore
Daniel Llorente (Malaga, Spain/) in a No. 2 doubles win over Southern Utah. Both victories were by 6-3 scores.
Besada also defeated Western New Mexico freshman Oscar Serra in No. 4 singles, besting his opponent in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0.
"Mateo played at a very high level over in Young Harris so I think college tennis was nothing new to him when he arrived and it (his talent) was already there," Graetz said. "He didn't necessarily have to learn a new system."
Another second-semester newcomer who has helped the Roadrunners is Kijak, a freshman who defeated OBU's Rhett Rollins in No. 5 singles, 6-4, 6-2. Kijak won with junior
Alejandro Martinez-Morilla (Madrid, Spain/I.E. Valdecas) in No. 3 doubles, besting freshman Nick Parker and junior Kevin Andrusch by a 6-1 margin. The duo later edged senior Liam Fraboulet and freshman Joaquin Delpino of WNMU, 7-6 (3), in No. 1 doubles.
"David is in a slightly different situation since he came in as a true freshman," Graetz said. "He's worked really, really hard to get to where he is right now. He's an extremely talented tennis player, and I'm excited to see him having this success because he's definitely earned it."
The MSU Denver women (4-3) hope to keep their momentum going against Colorado Mesa (3-5) after narrowly beating WNMU, 4-3, on Feb. 17. The Roadrunners are also scheduled to play a dual at Air Force at 4 p.m. Sunday. The Division I Falcons are 15-1 this season, including 11-1 against Division I competition.
McKean, a junior transfer, has proven herself formidable against her competition thus far. The 5-foot-4 McKean outplayed OBU senior Madeleine Boepple with straight-set wins, both by 6-2, in No. 2 singles. She then paired with junior
Ainsley Winterrowd (Lacey, Wash./North Thurston) in No. 3 doubles for a 6-3 win.
Teaming with junior
Tabitha Porter (Auckland, New Zealand/Northcote College) in No. 2 doubles, McKean was part of a 6-1 win in the dual with Western New Mexico.
"Eliza is in a very similar situation to Mateo where she played over at a high level in Holy Names (Calif.)," Graetz said. "She was able to come in and hit the ground running."
Given their different situations, Graetz knows what the men and women need to do against their respective opponents in the Mavericks.
"I think just getting some continuity in practice is going to be very important," Graetz said. "That's something we haven't had these last few weeks, so I think that if we just string three to four days in a row and get some players healthy, (we can win).
"We've had some sickness go throughout the team. So I think for both teams, health is number one. We have a limited roster on both teams right now. We only have six guys and all six compete every single match, and then we only have seven girls right now so the main thing is staying healthy and then getting the continuity on court. Being able to play some practice matches and being able to see where we're at is really important."
