Lobos Host Rice, Portland in Key Home Weekend

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — For a second straight week, the New Mexico Lobos hung around in the national rankings, moving from No. 55 to No. 68.  Now, much like Kasey Kasem’s old radio show, the Lobos are looking to have a big weekend and move up the charts.  The Lobos host Rice and Portland in a weekend set with both teams playing each other Saturday in a key series for the Lobos.

New Mexico will host Rice at 3 p.m. on Friday and Portland on Sunday at 2 p.m.   Rice and Portland will play Saturday at noon.  Matches are all scheduled for McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium, but could be moved inside due to weather.

The Lobos went 2-1 in their last outing at the Arizona State Invitational.  UNM lost 4-3 to Idaho in the opening round before bouncing back with a solid 4-2 win over Utah State and then a rain-delayed 4-0 win over New Mexico State.  Rice enters the weekend at 4-7 while Portland is 5-3.  UNM has been getting great play from the bottom of the order as Aram Noroozian, who has moved up to No. 3 singles, has won six straight, as has Georgio Samaha, who has split time at No. 6 and now is at No. 5 singles.  Alex Maggs is a perfect 4-0 in the spring at No. 6 and Ryomo Matsushita is 5-1 in singles in the spring as well.

Overall, UNM is 31-14 in singles in the spring, and the projected lineup for this weekend is even better at 30-10.  In doubles, UNM is just 8-9 in the spring, and they have lost the doubles point in three straight matches after winning it in three of the first four.