ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico Men’s Tennis team heads back to Southern California this weekend to face UC Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara, Calif. on Friday at 1:30 p.m. PT / 2:30 p.m. MT followed by UC Irvine in Irvine, Calif. on Saturday at 10 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. MT.
New Mexico (6-7) enters the weekend with two losses to Fresno State and San Francisco last Saturday at the Pacific Mountain Invitational tournament in Stockton, Calif. There were no doubles matches played due to match delays and weather conditions. Dominic West and Jorge Escutia each contributed singles wins for the team, but it was not enough to get the Lobos a victory.
The Lobos look to come back this weekend against the UCSB Gauchos (6-4). The Gauchos enter the match-up on Friday with two losses to No. 22 Oregon and No. 9 Baylor. The team is led by Simon Freund and Morgan Mays in the latest ITA/Oracle doubles rankings at No. 6.
The UCI ‘Eaters (4-7) are coming off a three-match winning streak to Villanova, Georgetown and Boston College. Mason Hansen grasped the first singles win for the ‘Eaters with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Georgetown’s Jack Murphy at No. 4. Luca Marquard closed out the deciding tiebreaker for the final 7-6, 5-7, 7-6 (9-7) win over Boston College.
New Mexico’s Ricky Hernandez-Tong leads the team with 14-7 in singles and 5-4 in doubles with Rodolfo Jauregui. The doubles team of Bart Van Leijsen and West also lead the team 5-3 in doubles.
The Lobos will play their next home match on Tuesday against Northern Arizona at 11:00 a.m. – More details to follow after this weekend’s matches. Follow and like the team on Facebook (UNM Men’s Tennis Team) and Twitter (@UNMMenTennis) for updates throughout the weekend.
Men’s Tennis to face UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine
