ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Last year the University of New Mexico men’s tennis team was sitting at 1-5 before a homestand got the Lobos on track. That team won five of six on that homestand on the way to an eventual 2019 Mountain West regular season title.
Flash forward a year later, and UNM started 0-4, before starting to get better with a homestand. That homestand began last week with a 4-3 win over BYU and a 6-1 win over Northern Colorado. It ends this week with a home match on Sunday at 1:30 pm against Utah at McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium.
It’s a big week for the Lobo men’s tennis team. The big match is on Sunday, but on Saturday, the squad will be honored at halftime of the Lobo men’s basketball game for its 2019 conference title. The team members and staff will be presented with their championship rings.
“It will be a great weekend for our program,” said head coach Ben Dunbar. “To have our team honored and presented their championship rings at halftime will be tremendous recognition for the boys. To be able to host a very good Pac-12 team in Utah on Sunday will be a challenge, one that we will be ready and excited for.”
Last year Stepan Holis was the star against Utah, winning his doubles match to help UNM take the doubles point, and then securing the lone singles win, beating Slava Shainyan in three sets. That was how UNM scored in a close 4-2 loss that saw four matches go to three sets.
The Utes bring a 7-3 record into the match on Sunday, but they have been on the same path as UNM. Utah, like New Mexico, is undefeated at home. The Utes are 7-0 at home, but 0-3 away from George S. Eccles Tennis Center. UNM likewise is 2-0 at home and 0-4 away from home.
Holis most likely won’t run into Shainyan again, as Holis has played mostly at No. 2 singles, meaning his probable opponent would be Russell Benkaim, who is 0-3 at No. 1 singles but 5-1 at No. 2 singles.
The Lobos lead the all-time series 11-5, but have lost the last two, both by 4-2 scores. UNM’s last win in the series was in 2017, a 4-3 win in Salt Lake City. Dominic West was a freshman for UNM in that match, winning in three sets at No. 4 singles and then clinching the doubles point at No. 2. UNM’s last home win over the Utes was a 7-0 whitewashing on February 26, 2016.
Men’s Tennis to Ring in a Big Weekend
