COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 38 University of New Mexico men’s tennis team is headed to College Station, Texas to take on No. 31 Oklahoma State in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championships. The Lobos and the Cowboys are set to square off on Friday at 11 a.m. CT at the Mitchell Tennis Center at Texas A&M.
“We are excited for the challenge and ready for a very tough match against Oklahoma State,” head coach Bart Scott said. “Physically we feel great, and that’s a credit to our athletic performance coach Ryan Dupree and his fantastic program. Mentally we are bit tired after finals, but these next few days will allow us to get fresh in that department as well, so we can be ready to lay it on the line on Friday. What a great place to play tennis as well. It’s a championship facility that has hosted NCAA championships in years past, so it’s a tremendous opportunity for our guys.”
No. 38 New Mexico
The Lobos’ strong regular season showing allowed them to receive an at-large berth into this year’s NCAA tournament. The Lobos (20-10, 7-2 MW) claimed the MW regular season title, went 6-4 against ranked opponents, and won sixteen of their last nineteen matches. UNM is currently led in singles action by all-conference honorees Hayden Sabatka and Samir Iftikhar (ranked No. 89 nationally). Iftikhar’s national singles ranking also allowed him to earn an automatic bid into this year’s NCAA Individual Championships, which are taking place May 20-25 in Waco, Texas. In doubles play, all-conference duo Sabatka and Bart Van Leijsen (ranked No. 75 nationally) have held down the No. 1 spot for the Lobos. Head coach Bart Scott was honored as MW Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year for his success so far this season.
Notes: This is the Lobos’ first NCAA appearance since 2009… UNM has not made it past the first round of the NCAA tournament since 1998… This is the Lobos’ 12th NCAA appearance overall.
No. 31 Oklahoma State
The Cowboys will be making their 19th NCAA appearance this weekend. The Cowboys, who have lost six of their last seven matches, are coming into the tournament with a national ranking of 31 and an overall record of 16-9, 0-5 in Big-12 play. OSU is led by No. 32 nationally ranked Jakob Sude and No. 115 Lucas Gerch in singles. Sude and Arjun Kadhe lead the team in doubles and currently come in at No. 24 in the ITA doubles rankings.
The Lobos are 5-3 all-time against Oklahoma State and amazingly the two programs haven’t played since 1990. OSU has won the last two in the series.
NCAA First Round
The Lobos and the Cowboys are in a pod with Texas A&M and Eastern Kentucky. The winners of each first round match will face off in the second round on Saturday, May 9 at 3 p.m. CT.
Specific match times are as follows:
1st Rounds
Friday, May 8 11:00 am CT Oklahoma State vs. UNM
Friday, May 8 2:00 pm CT Texas A&M vs. Eastern Kentucky
2nd Round
Saturday, May 9 3:00 pm CT Winner match 1 vs. Winner match 2
*Live scoring link will be posted once it is available
COMPLETE BRACKET (NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championships)
Twitter: @UNMMenTennis | Facebook: Facebook.com/UNM.Men.Tennis
Ticket Information: Tickets to the first and second-round matches can be purchased in advance at 12thManFoundation.com or during business hours at the Athletic Ticket Office located at Kyle Field or by calling the ticket office at 1-888-99-AGGIE or 979-845-2311. Tickets also will be available for purchase on match days at the Mitchell Tennis Center beginning one hour before match time.
Prices are as follows, with the all-session ticket also allowing entry to the women’s tennis first and second round matches to be played Saturday and Sunday, May 9-10 at the Mitchell Tennis Center:
$12 All-Session Reserved (Stadium Club)
$7 Single Day Reserved (Stadium Club)
$5 Single Day General Admission
$3 Single Day Student/Youth
Free for children under age two