Weekend Schedule
Friday, April 17 – New Mexico @ Denver – 1 p.m. MT
Live scoring: http://www.denverpioneers.com/livestats/m-tennis/xlive.htm
Saturday, April 18 – New Mexico @ Air Force – 2 p.m. MT
Live scoring: http://www.goairforcefalcons.com/livestats/m-tennis/xlive.htm
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The No. 41 University of New Mexico men’s tennis team will close out regular season play this weekend with road matches against No. 46 Denver and Air Force.
“There is a lot on the line this weekend and we are preparing hard to make sure we are ready to give it our all,” interim head coach Bart Scott said.
No. 41 New Mexico (17-9, 5-1 MW)
The Lobos picked up two big wins last weekend against nationally ranked conference opponents UNLV and San Diego State. UNM is currently 5-1 in Mountain West play and sitting at the No. 2 spot in the conference standings. The Lobos’ impressive weekend allowed them to move up to No. 41 in the latest ITA team rankings with senior Samir Iftikhar coming in at No. 86 in the singles listings. Additionally, sophomore Hayden Sabatka was named MW Player of the Week for his dominating performance in the Lobos’ recent victories.
No. 46 Denver (16-7, 5-0 Summit League)
UNM opens the weekend with a match against the No. 46 Denver Pioneers at the Lifetime Fitness Centennial on Friday. The Lobos and the Pioneers have a long history with one another as both teams have seen great success in the Mountain region over the last few years.
“We’ve built a nice rivalry with DU over the last ten or so years,” Scott said. “Danny (Westerman) has done a tremendous job and his teams always fight until the bitter end. We expect their best and I know they expect ours.”
DU has won its last seven matches, is undefeated in Summit League play, and currently has three players ranked by the ITA (Henry Craig – No. 107 singles, Diogo Rocha – No. 109 singles, Craig/Alex Gasson – No. 34 doubles).
Air Force (10-10, 0-6 MW)
The Lobos will close out the regular season on Saturday with a match against the Air Force Falcons.
“Air Force always presents a tough challenge with the way they fight and the attitude they bring to each match,” Scott said. “We will be ready and we expect a tough match.”
The Falcons have last their last six matches all against MW opponents. The Lobos defeated AFA last season 4-0 in the quarterfinals of the MW Championships.
“Our team is confident and have done a great job all year dealing with pressure and adversity,” Scott said. “We are excited to get back out there and compete again this weekend.”
A full recap and results will be posted after each match on golobos.com.
Twitter: @UNMMenTennis | Facebook: Facebook.com/UNM.Men.Tennis