Men's Tennis Host Three Matches This Weekend
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Lobos host three matches over two days this weekend, with UNM hosting Louisiana on Friday at 4 p.m. before hosting a pair of matches on Super Bowl Sunday. The Lobos will take on the Utah Utes at noon and then the Western New Mexico Mustangs at 4 p.m. On Saturday, Utah and Louisiana will square off.
The Lobos were off last weekend after going 1-1 on each of the first two weekends, with both weekends playing out in similar fashion. Both times, UNM lost a tight 4-3 decision, to Cal Poly at home and then at Arkansas the following week. In both matches, UNM’s loss of the doubles point proved pivitol. Both times UNM bounced back. On opening weekend, UNM won 7-0 over East Tennessee State to win the Second Annual Jack Kennedy Classic.
For the second weekend of the season, UNM again bounced back, this time with a 6-1 win over South Alabama.
It’s been Arda Azkara leading the way, winning all four singles matches as he is now sitting at No. 122 in the latest ITA Rankings which came out on Wednesday. Azkara has played No. 1 all season and he will be putting his 20-0 record at home at No. 1 on the line three times this weekend.
Joining him in the win column has been Georgio Samaha, who moved from No. 5 to No. 4 singles and hasn’t missed a beat, also going 4-0. Teammate Arthur Bellegy has won his last three matches and Aram Noroozian is always tough at home, giving UNM a solid singles lineup when you add in veterans Rafael Abdulsalam and Alex Maggs.
Louisiana is 2-5 on the season, but they will enter on a two-match winning streak having shut out both UTRGV and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Utah is just 1-4 having lost four straight after a 5-2 opening victory against Weber State. Western New Mexico is 1-0, oddly winning its only match at UNM, beating Colorado College inside the bubbles last Sunday.
NOTES: Due to chilly and inclement weather, all matches are scheduled for the Linda Estes Indoor Tennis Center Bubbles.