ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The No. 37 University of New Mexico women’s tennis team is traveling to Utah for a pair of matches this weekend. The Lobos (8-2) open the weekend with a match against No. 73 Utah on Thursday and finish with a match on Saturday against No. 67 BYU.
“We have another tough road trip ahead facing Utah and BYU,” head coach Erica Jasper said. “Both teams are typically two of the strongest programs in our region, so we have an excellent opportunity at hand.”
The Lobos, who recently jumped 27 spots in the ITA team rankings, take on the Utes at 5 p.m. MT on Thursday at the Eccles Tennis Center in Salt Lake City. Utah currently holds a 1-5 record on the season, however they have faced only ranked opponents including four top-50 teams. Utah senior Tereza Bekerova comes in at No. 53 in the ITA singles rankings. Bekerova and Margo Pletcher are currently ranked No. 31 in the ITA doubles rankings.
The Utes fell to No. 56 Houston last weekend. UNM upset Houston earlier this season.
“Utah’s record and ranking is deceptive right now as they are a strong team and have lost some close matches to very good programs–we expect them to come out firing against us Thursday night,” Jasper said.
UNM then travels to Provo, Utah to face BYU at 10 a.m. MT on Saturday. BYU currently holds a 4-4 record on the season and currently has no ITA ranked players in its lineup.
“BYU traditionally has very good depth and this year is no different,” Jasper added. “We’ll have to be ready to go at all positions to put ourselves in position to win.”
Live scoring will be available for the Lobos’ match against BYU. The link will be located on the Cougars’ schedule page on the day of the match.
A full recap and results from both matches will be posted on golobos.com at the end of each match.
UNM vs Utah
Utah Head Coach: Mat Iandolo
Conference: Pac-12
Season Record: 1-5
Last Meeting: The Lobos fell to the Utes last season, 1-6
All-Time Record: The Lobos and Utes are tied up at 16-16 in the all-time record
UNM vs BYU
BYU Head Coach: Lauren Jones-Spencer
Conference: West Coast Conference
Season Record: 4-4
Last Meeting: The Lobos have not faced the Cougars since 2011 where BYU won, 6-1
All-Time Record: BYU leads 30-5 in the all-time record against the Lobos