The coaches and athletes of the spring sports here at CMU have had tremendous success so far this season. Men and women’s teams have performed well in conference play and have even received national recognition in several categories. Athletic director Butch Miller said this year has been very special.

“CMU has always been a staple at the top of the conference in our spring programs,” Miller said. “I believe that this spring has been the most successful from top to bottom.”

The baseball team (30-10, 24-6 RMAC), led by coach Chris Hanks, is first place in the RMAC Mountain Division. They hold the 24th spot in the recent NCAA D2 rankings. As a team, they are ranked nationally in batting average (.342), hits (437), runs per game (8.0) and stolen bases (78). Pitchers Jared Christenson and Nolan Snell are ranked for total wins, Christenson with eight and Snell with seven. Snell also holds a top-10 ranking in total strikeouts (76). They will host two series at the renovated Suplizio Field against division opponents CSU-Pueblo and Metro State before finishing the regular season at Colorado School of Mines.

Coach Paul Brown and the men’s golf team is ranked 10th in the NCAA Central Division and took second place in the RMAC championships this past week. They have seven top-10 finishes this season, which ties the program record for most in a season. The team’s lowest scoring round (281 strokes) is third in the conference and they only trail Nebraska-Kearney by .06 strokes for a top five team scoring average. The team’s top performer, Brandon Bingaman, holds the top spot for lowest scoring round in the conference (66 strokes) and is fourth in average score per round (72.4). They will compete in the NCAA Super Regional on May 7.

In their second year as a varsity sport, the men’s lacrosse team (8-4, 5-2 WILA) secured its first winning season in program history and is tied for first place in the Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. Led by head coach A.J. Stevens, The Mavericks are ranked top-10 nationally in team defense (6.33 goals/game) and man-down defense (.821). Individually, goalie Brad Brandenburg is ranked third nationally in goals against average (5.18) and second in save percentage (.664). The Mavs close out their season with the chance to win the conference championship at Adams State this Saturday.

Women’s golf earned the third spot in the NCAA Central Division rankings thanks to eight top-five finishes, including two victories at the Grizzly invitational and the Maverick Spring Invitational. In the RMAC, they rank second in team scoring average (325.4 strokes per round) and have the second lowest scoring round in the conference (309). Two Mavericks placed in the top 10 in the conference for average score per round Jennifer Hilts sits in fourth place (80.8), while teammate Jessica Berve takes sixth (81.0). Berve is also tied for fourth for lowest round in the conference with a score of 75. Their season will continue at the NCAA super-regional on May 5.

In coach Kris Mort’s final season as coach of the softball team, the Mavs (24-18, 22-16 RMAC) are ranked sixth in the NCAA Central region and are only four games behind Colorado School of Mines for the top spot in the conference. They rank eighth nationally in team batting average (.350). Pitcher Courtney Maihi also earned national rankings in batting average (.450) and on-base percentage (.536), and infielder Taylor Gross ranks in the top 50 nationally in stolen bases with 20. Their regular season concludes with the RMAC championship tournament this weekend.

The women’s tennis finished in third place at the RMAC championships after defeating Metro State on Saturday. Coach Dan MacDonald and his squad (18-9, 5-1 RMAC) was undefeated at home this year and had four All-Conference representatives. Kelleen and Kaitlin Sera earned first team in both singles and doubles, Shannen McNamara earned second team in singles, and Kaylee Davies earned third team in singles. McNamara and Davies also were awarded second-team honors for team doubles.

“I think our success shows what CMU has done as far as bringing in quality student athletes,” Miller said. “They are winning in the classroom as well as winning on the field.”