CMU’s men’s and women’s tennis teams are ready for another successful season, and after putting in hours of lifting, conditioning and coaching day after day, coach Dan MacDonald is confident in the group of players he has.

“I think we’ve got good team chemistry, we’ve got talent and we’re working hard,” MacDonald said.

The men are ranked No. 1 in the RMAC preseason polls and the women are ranked No. 2, along with four players named to the RMAC preseason team. Junior Jordan Lyden and sophomore Spencer Weinburg were named to the men’s team while junior Rachel McLaughlin and senior Shannen McNamara were named to the women’s team.

McLaughlin, and the rest of the players, have been working hard on their individual game as well as working as a team to get ready for this season.

“I think we have a very strong team this season and we’ve got a lot of depth, so I expect us to do very well,” McLaughlin said.

The Mavs were on the road for their first matches of the season, playing the University of Wyoming, Northern Colorado, and Colorado State, all of which are division one schools.

“These are early matches and we are playing all division one schools this weekend, so they are just getting us going and kicking the season off,” MacDonald said.

The women got off to a rough start, getting swept by both Wyoming and UNC 7-0. The men faired a little better, defeating Wyoming’s club team, but then falling to UNC 5-2. The two wins came from singles matches, with Lyden defeating Ben Gendron 6-3, 6-4 and Blake Demond winning 6-3, 2-6, 10-3 over Michael Moya.

The stiff competition has readied the Mavs to prove themselves, and McLaughlin is still confident about the outlook for the remainder of the season.

“I think it’s very possible for us to win the RMAC and get a bid into the regional tournament,” McLaughlin said.

The men play Utah State and Weber State on Feb. 22, while the women look to bounce back on March 7 against Weber State and Southern Utah.

amahan2@mavs.coloradomesa.edu