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Lobos Head to Las Cruces For Rivalry Matchup

by Frank Mercogliano

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It’s actually been five years since the New Mexico Lobos have faced off with the New Mexico State Aggies in Las Cruces, and no one on either team was there for that last meeting, a slightly shocking 4-1 victory for the Aggies.  UNM heads to Cruces looking to exorcise that demon, and stay unbeaten as UNM takes on the Aggies at 1 p.m. in Las Cruces on Saturday.

The Lobos enter the matchup with a spotless 2-0 record, having won a pair of matches in the inaugural Jack Kennedy Classic, beating UT Arlington 5-2 and then Gonzaga 5-2.  Arda Azkara picked up Mountain West Athlete of the Week honors and Nikolay Sysoev picked up Mountain West Freshman of the Week honors.  Azkara went 3-0 over the two matches, winning both of his singles matches while playing at No. 1 singles.  Sysoev won his only match, his collegiate debut, at No. 3 singles against Gonzaga.

Overall, UNM played extremely well, and the win over Gonzaga turned the script on last year’s second match of the season, a 4-2 loss to nearly that same Gonzaga team.

The Aggies went 0-4 last weekend in its opening weekend at UNLV for the UNLV Quad Meet.  New Mexico State lost 4-3 to both UC Riverside and Weber State on Friday, January 27.  The Aggies then lost 4-0 to UNLV and Hawai’i to finish the weekend.  NMSU lost the doubles point in all four matches, a direct contrast to UNM, which earned the doubles point in both matches.

Overall, UNM has dominated the all-time series, as in 104 meetings, UNM leads the all-time series 93-11.  The Lobos won the last meeting 4-0 in 2019, but the two teams have not played against each other since that meeting, making this the first matchup in four years.

NOTES:  UNM over the first two matches used all nine players on the roster.

 

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