DENVER – At long last, the MSU Denver women's tennis program is back in action, officially, on Saturday.
 
The Roadrunners play a regular season dual at Colorado State starting at 3 p.m.
 
It is the program's first regular-season activity since playing Angelo State (Texas) on March 7, 2020, a 321-day break imposed by COVID-19. The Roadrunners did play two scrimmages against outside competition on Oct. 3, and had exhibition duals against Colorado and Air Force in late January.
 
This time, though, it counts.
 
"There's a great dose of competition going on right now, and everyone is excited and ready to go out and compete," Graetz said. "That's the one thing we didn't have in the fall semester, and I think it's made them more hungry for the spring semester."
 
Though all-time wins leader Tabitha Porter has graduated, and veteran mainstays Ainsley Winterrowd and Mackenzie Hotan are no longer playing, plenty of key players return from a squad that was 6-4 and building momentum when last season ended.
 
Brooklyn Ross was 13-2 last year, including 7-0 in duals and 5-0 at No. 1 singles after reaching the quarterfinals of the ITA South Central Regional tournament in the fall of 2019.
 
"Brooklyn was undefeated in the spring, so the sky is the limit for her," Graetz said. "She has a goal to be an All-American this year, and she has a goal to go to nationals as a team. She's a gritty player who never wants to lose. She's a great competitor.
 
"I'm excited to see what she can achieve, and I'm excited to see what the team can achieve."
 
After a season as an independent program (the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is down to only three tennis-playing institutions and so no longer conducts a championship and had previously lost its automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after dropping below six teams), MSU Denver has secured a spot as an affiliate member of the Pacific West Conference.
 
"Being in the PacWest is huge for our program," Graetz said. "Being able to have that conference tournament (with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the winner) is something that we haven't had for several years.
 
"Being in a conference gives us a home. We have to make the conference tournament (12 teams qualify), so we can't assume anything."
 
MSU Denver's PacWest debut is a March 11 home dual with Dominican (Calif.).
 
Beyond Ross, plenty of talent and experience is on the roster.
 
That includes Helena Steenberg, who was 7-8 while playing primarily at the No. 3 position last year.
 
Interestingly, the 2018-19 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Co-Freshman of the Year has a new teammate … the other 2018-19 RMAC Co-Freshman of the Year, Isabel Heras, has transferred to MSU Denver from Dixie State. Each won one head-to-head match singles match against the other two years ago.
 
"It was kind of funny when I recruited Isabel to join us," Graetz said. "They also live together. They get along really well. Isabel has been a great addition to the team."
 
Gala Castello (7-7 last year) and Kayla Myburgh (3-3) were also lineup regulars, and newcomers Marie Cool and Lilly Stienemeier bring talent, experience and depth.
 
"From 2 to 7, we're really deep," Graetz said. "The competition is great."