DENVER – MSU Denver earned two tennis victories Friday over Colorado Mesa, with the women scratching out a clutch 4-3 decision and the men claiming all the singles matches in a 6-1 win.

The victory was critical for the women in their bid to be one of 12 teams to qualify for the Pacific West Conference Tournament later this month. The Roadrunners are ranked 10^th in the league, and Colorado Mesa is 11^th.
 
And MSU Denver (6-8) merely did it while playing short-handed.
 
"I told them that we kind of fell across the finish line today, but there are going to be matches where we have to do that," MSU Denver coach Josh Graetz said. "We maybe didn't play our best tennis and played through some injuries, but we got it done, which is the important thing. We're starting to become more battle-hardened. The days you don't play your best tennis but you still get the win, those are the good days."
 
MSU Denver cruised to the doubles point win by sweeping all three matches, then prevailed in a back-and-forth set of singles contests.
 
Ava Neuburger-Higby was in control at No. 1 when her opponent retired and Marie Cool won 6-3, 6-4 at No. 4.
 
The deciding match, though, was a three-set decision at No. 2 by Isabel Heras, who won 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3. Heras improved to 6-14 for the season, though six of her losses have been in three-set affairs, and two others came in second-set tiebreakers.
 
"'Is' is very nonchalant," Graetz said. "I don't know if she even realized that she was the clinch-match out there. She doesn't show a whole lot of emotion out there on the court, even after a big three-set win. I'm happy for her. She's playing some good tennis at the moment."
 
The men, ranked sixth in the PacWest, seem to be in solid shape in trying to earn one of eight spots in the league tournament, but losing the doubles point was unsettling.
 
"We didn't play the best doubles point, going down 1-0, and I challenged them pretty hard, and we responded," Graetz said. "We got all six singles matches. We had a couple guys who played really good tennis, and a couple of guys who maybe didn't play their best but found ways to win."
 
Carlos Pinedo (No. 2) and Andy Caruana (No. 4) cruised to 6-1, 6-1 victories, and 69^th-ranked Jeanloup Auzias defeated veteran Steven Howe 6-3, 6-4 at No. 1.
 
"We have a lot of new guys who are playing well and winning a lot of matches for us," Graetz said. "And that's exciting."
 
Auzias, a second-year freshman, improved to 11-6 this season and 17-8 for his career, while first-year freshman Caruana is 13-4, Pinedo is 12-5 in his first year with MSU Denver, and first-year freshman Alejandro Jimenez improved to 10-3 while playing his first match at No. 3.
 
MSU Denver improved to 9-3.