ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico men’s tennis squad heads to Los Angeles, Calif. this weekend for the 2017 ITA National Kick-Off Weekend tournament.
The Lobos take on No. 6 UCLA on Saturday Jan. 28 at 2:00 p.m. PT / 3:00 p.m. MT and either Lamar or Boise State on Sunday Jan. 29 at the Sunset Canyon Tennis Courts. Depending on the outcome on Saturday, the consolation is set for 10 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. MT and the championship at 2 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. MT on Sunday. The Lobos are coming off a 0-3 record this season with losses to No. 23 Texas Tech, Arizona and the University of Central Florida (UCF).
The winner of the championship will head to Charlottesville, Va. on Feb. 17 for the first round of the 2017 ITA National Indoors Championship tournament.
There will be a live stats broadcast for all the matches found here on the day of each match. Be sure to like and follow the team on Facebook (UNM Men’s Tennis Team) and Twitter (@UNMMenTennis) for updates throughout the weekend.
Head coach Ben Dunbar hopes that the work they have put in over the last couple of weeks will prepare them for the teams they face this weekend.
“We are really excited to see the guys compete again,” said Dunbar. “They have worked hard for two weeks and are ready to go once again. We have some great matches to look forward to and this weekend is just one of them. We endeavor to do the Lobo nation proud with our fight and our attitude.”
In singles, Ricky Hernandez-Tong led the team with two victories over Trent Botha of Arizona and Kalman Boyd of UCF on opening weekend. Hernandez-Tong and Rodolfo Jauregui lead the Lobos with the most wins so far this season – each sharing nine.
In doubles, Hernandez-Tong and Jauregui have one victory over Shoki Kasahara and Shoti Meparidze of Arizona. Another duo that shares a claim of one victory is the team of Bart Van Leijsen and Dominic West over Korey Lovett and Kalman Boyd of UCF.