Streaking Lobos Host NAU, UTSA
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico Lobos, ranked No. 67 in the latest ITA rankings, take a three-match winning streak into a home weekend series as UNM hosts Northern Arizona at 3 pm on Friday and UTSA at 11 am on Sunday. Both matches are scheduled for McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium and are free to the public.
While the team is ranked No. 67, UNM’s doubles team of Aram Noroozian and Georgio Samaha are both ranked No. 67 there, and they have certainly looked the part with a 15-5 record together and an 9-2 mark in the spring. The Lobos have won three straight, overall tooping their three opponents by a combined 17-4 score. UNM beat Wichita State 5-2 before winning by 6-1 scores over No. 67 Santa Clara and New Mexico State.
Keying UNM has been Noroozian, winning six straight at No. 1 singles, and Avery Tallakson, who has won six straight at No. 6 singles as well. Daniil Kakhniuk has fully returned to form after his injury-riddled 2023-24, having won four straight. He and Noroozian led the team with 16 wins each in singles.
UNM will face a tough test in Northern Arizona, which sits at 11-6 overall and 4-0 and in first place in the Big Sky. NAU is just 2-4 on the road (it is 8-0 at home) and it has won five straight and eight of 10. UTSA is 5-8 on the season, but the ROadrunners own a 4-1 win over fellow Mountain West foe Utah State and a 6-1 win over Denver, proving the Roadrunners are a dangerous group.