Fall 2016 Men’s Tennis Season Statistics
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Tennis season is approaching quickly Lobo fans! The University of New Mexico men’s tennis team kicks off its first three matches of the 2017 season this weekend at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Campus in Lake Nona, Florida.
The Lobos face off against No. 23 ranked Texas Tech at 10 a.m. MT and Arizona at 4 p.m. MT on Saturday, Jan. 14. They will then play the University of Central Florida at 12 p.m. MT on Sunday, Jan. 15.
There will be a live stream accessible through www.playsight.com for all matches. Be sure to like and follow the team on Facebook (UNM Men’s Tennis Team) and Twitter (@UNMMenTennis) for updates on the matches.
ABOUT THE COACHES
Head coach Ben Dunbar begins his first season as head coach at UNM along with assistant coach Robin Goodman. Dunbar spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at UNM, under former head coach Bart Scott, and played for the Lobos from 2008-12. He is the 18th coach in program history and the fifth to both play and coach for the program. Goodman enters his first season as the assistant coach for the New Mexico men’s tennis team after spending two seasons at Baylor.
ABOUT THE PLAYERS
The Lobos return six members from last spring including sophomores Ricky Hernandez-Tong and Michael Tran and juniors Sean Baklini, Jorge Escutia and Bart Van Leijsen. Rodolfo Jauregui also returns as the only senior on the team. In addition, the Lobos welcome freshmen Lawrence Perrin and Dominic West to the squad.
ABOUT THE 2016-17 SEASON
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) released the initial 2016-17 National Rankings on Jan. 4. Last season, the Lobos were No. 41 in the rankings but this season the ranking list was reduced to top 25 only.
Two Lobos are ranked in the top 20 in the Mountain Region. Hernandez-Tong is ranked eighth and Van Leijsen is ranked 12th in singles rankings. In doubles rankings, the team of Hernandez-Tong and Jauregui are ranked fourth in the region.
Baklini and Jauregui had an outstanding fall season in 2016. The duo went 4-0 at the Balloon Fiesta Invite, collecting wins over Abilene Christian, Northern Arizona, Idaho and Air Force, and are looking to continue their win streak. Hernandez-Tong and Jauregui also had a great fall season, going 4-1 at the 2016 ITA Mountain Regional Championships in October. The pair earned wins over New Mexico State, Idaho and Air Force but fell to No. 18 Denver’s Alex Gasson and Yannik James in the semifinals of the consolation draw.
In singles, Hernandez-Tong went 7-2 and Jauregui went 9-2 when they competed in both the ITA Mountain Regional Championships and Balloon Fiesta Invite. Van Leijsen also competed in both the ITA Mountain Regional and All-American Championships in the fall, finishing 3-3. He led the spring squad with the most wins last season (22-14).
After 11 straight matches away from home, the Lobos will host their first home contests on Feb. 25 at 10 a.m. against the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and NMSU at 4 p.m. UNM will play six matches at home on the season, which will include Northern Arizona (March 14), Fresno State (March 31), UNLV (April 14) and San Diego State (April 16).
The season will conclude at Air Force on April 22 after which the team will travel to Boise, Idaho, on April 28 for the 2017 Mountain West Tournament.