DENVER – It's a big week for the MSU Denver tennis program, with key duals that could play a major factor in determining qualifications and seeding for the Pacific West Conference Tournament.
 
The women play host to three duals at the Assembly Athletic Complex – Wednesday at 4 p.m. against Cal State Stanislaus, Friday at 2:30 against Colorado Mesa and Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against CSU Pueblo.
 
The men have just one dual, but the Friday 2:30 p.m. matchup with Colorado Mesa shapes up as most likely a winner-take-all for the final spot in the PacWest field. The tournament field will be announced before the Roadrunners-Mavericks rematch on April 13, with Friday's winner most likely the eighth seed and playing the top seed in the tournament's first round.
 
"Hopefully we can go higher in the PacWest rankings, and it would put us in a better spot going into the conference tournament," MSU Denver coach Bruno Campos said. "I truly believe that for us to be the best we have to beat the best, but I'd rather go little by little."
 
The Roadrunners' women are in a bit more secure position, as they are currently ranked ninth in the PacWest for what will be a 12-team field.
 
Stanislaus State, though just 3-10 overall, is a quality team that is coming off a Monday win at Colorado Mesa that figures to move the Warriors up to the 11^th seed. A win over MSU Denver could vault the Warriors up to ninth.
 
Last year Stanislaus State entered the PacWest Tournament as the 12^th seed, but went 3-1 in the tournament, including a 4-3 win over MSU Denver.
 
"Their ranking is a little lower than us, but we know it's going to be a battle," Campos said. "It's one of those teams that gets things done. They hit slices, they play with a kick serve instead of a flat first serve, they come to the net a lot, they hit drop shots … we just have to be ready for it."
 
Stanislaus State plays Tuesday at CSU Pueblo.
 
The Colorado Mesa women are 9-12, while the Mavericks' men are 7-12.
 
CSU Pueblo's women were 0-8 before playing Stanislaus State.
 
"Doubles is going to be big for us," Campos said. "We've been getting the doubles point on the women's side, which is good. For the men, I'm trying to find better options for doubles. We keep losing at doubles 3, and I want to see if I can put us in the best position to succeed."