DENVER – And here we go again.
 
Fresh off a grueling two days at the MSU Denver Invitational last Saturday and Sunday, the MSU Denver men's and women's tennis teams get right back into action Thursday, Friday and Saturday with duals against Texas-Permian Basin, Lubbock Christian (Texas) and St. Mary's (Texas). The women also have one additional dual, against Fort Hays State (Kan.).
 
And, in the sometimes-unusual consequences of college tennis, these mid-September duals will quite likely carry major weight as the season starts winding to an end in late April.
 
"These duals definitely matter," MSU Denver coach Josh Graetz said. "It matters for strength-of-schedule, and Division II record, and other rankings as well. We're happy to be able to get these Texas schools to Colorado for matches, and it's going to be a challenge for our teams to play three or four duals in three days. But we're all going through it, so there are no excuses."
 
It all starts in Pueblo, Colo., with both teams facing Texas-Permian Basin at 4 p.m. Thursday and Lubbock Christian at 1 p.m. Friday. The Roadrunners' women turn around and face Fort Hays State at 5 p.m. Friday.
 
On Saturday at 11 a.m., the scene shifts to the Assembly Athletic Complex as St. Mary's becomes one of the top Division II programs in recent seasons to come to Denver. The Rattlers' women were 21-4 last season while reaching the national quarterfinals, and the men were 17-7 and reached the national tournament.
 
"They're a really solid program and they are really well-coached," Graetz said. "They are always tough."
 
The Texas-Permian Basin men were 7-10 last season, while the women were 9-16. Fort Hays State's women are coming off a 7-12 season.
 
Meanwhile Lubbock Christian will this weekend be playing its first duals as a program since the 1981-82 season after reinstating tennis as a varsity sport.
 
"Lubbock Christian is a little bit of an unknown," Graetz said. "But I do know their sports programs there are pretty successful, and they have a new facility and a highly-motivated, successful coach. I expect them to be a challenge for us."
 
MSU Denver had plenty of solid results last weekend at its tournament, with Jealoup Auzias and Billy McDermott combining to win the men's doubles title, Auzias reaching the semifinals and Juho Kantola the final in men's singles, and Isabel Heras reaching the title match in both women's singles and doubles.
 
"Everybody is pretty much healthy ready to go," Graetz said. "We had some tired bodies (Tuesday), but we're in a good spot going into dual-match play."