DENVER – The MSU Denver men's and women's tennis teams will celebrate Senior Day with separate ceremonies before exhibition duals on Thursday and Friday against Division I Oral Roberts.
The men will recognize
Jeanloup Auzias,
Juho Kantola and
Maximo Lawlor before Thursday's 10 a.m. contest, while the observance for the women precedes Friday's 10 a.m. matchup and will honor
Lilly Stienemeier,
Emily Hafner and
Courtenay Leonard.
It's a full weekend of activity for the teams, who travel to Colorado Mesa for regular-season duals Saturday at 2 p.m., before the men play a home exhibition against Illinois State on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Then it's off to Arizona for the Pacific West Conference Tournament, which starts Wednesday for the women and the following day for the men.
The Roadrunners' six seniors have competed at a high level during their stays with the program.
Auzias has compiled a 44-30 singles record in four seasons with the Roadrunners, including an outstanding 26-12 mark while playing at No. 1. He's tied for 15
th in program history in singles wins and ranks seventh in No. 1 singles victories. He has been ranked as high as No. 46 in the country. Auzias is also 55-27 in doubles matches to rank seventh in program history in doubles wins, and his doubles winning percentage of .671 ranks 14
th. He was All-Pacific West Conference first team in singles last season after earning second team honors for 2021-22. Auzias has also been a two-time Academic All-District selection, a two-time D2ADA Academic Achievement Award winner and a two-time Academic All-PacWest nominee.
Kantola came to MSU Denver for his final two seasons and has been a major force, compiling a career record of 36-13 in singles for a .735 winning percentage that ranks seventh in program history. He's also 22-18 in doubles. Kantola is currently nationally-ranked in both singles, at No. 54, and in doubles, where he and partner
Marco Jalalian are No. 42. In singles, Kantola has been ranked as high as No. 23 this season. Last season he was named to the All-PacWest second team in singles as well as the league's third team in doubles.
Lawlor also joined the program for his final two seasons and has been a team leader and valuable contributor to the campus community. He has a career singles record of 9-10 with the Roadrunners, including a stellar 6-0 this season at No. 6. He's also 2-4 for his career in doubles. Lawlor is a past Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative.
For the women, Stienemeier is a four-year contributor who is tied for ninth in program history with 42 career singles victories and she ranks sixth with 49 career doubles wins. In singles, her career record is 42-41, and she's been outstanding as a senior with a 12-12 overall record that includes a 5-3 mark at No. 3. Her record in doubles is 49-40, including 16-12 this year. She's been an Academic All-District selection, a two-time Academic All-PacWest honoree, a D2ADA Academic Achievement Award winner and three-year member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Hafner and Leonard both joined MSU Denver for their senior seasons and made an impact.
Hafner made an immediate impression with her run to the ITA West Regional final in the fall, which led to an invitation to the ITA Cup, where she won yet another match. She's 19-12 this season, with her victory total tied for the fifth most in a season in program history. She is currently ranked No. 28 in Division II, and she has been ranked as high as No. 8. In doubles she is 16-10 while playing at either No. 1 or No. 2.
Leonard has played at anywhere from No. 3 to No. 5 in singles and at all three doubles positions, and she has compiled records of 7-13 in singles and 8-13 in doubles. Including her three seasons at Southwest Minnesota State, she has 32 singles wins and 37 doubles wins at the Division II level.
