ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --- So it begins. The 2026 season gets started in earnest on Sunday as the Lobo men's tennis team, the defending Mountain West Tournament Champions, hosts a pair of matches as UNM opens its 23-match schedule with a doubleheader.
The Lobos will take on the Idaho Vandals at 11 a.m. before turning around and hosting Western New Mexico. The match with the Mustangs is scheduled for 3 p.m., and both matches will be played outside at McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium.
The Lobos return three players from last year's 16-9 team that won the Mountain West Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, giving host Stanford a fit before falling in a 4-0 score that wasn't nearly indicative of how close it truly was.
The only returning starter from last year is Dario Ciobotaru, and he is joined by Philip Bosin and Connor Dils, who did not see action in the spring. Bosin was the team leader in the fall with seven wins, and he was just ahead of one of six newcomers to the team, that being Tyler Waddock, an Eastern Washington transfer who won six in the fall.
Adding to UNM's depth are transfers Jakub Prachar from Northern Arizona and Jan Skerbatis from Valdosta State, where he helped the Blazers to back-to-back national titles. Nishant Dabas, Alberto Perez, and freshman Carl Labitzke round out UNM's newcomers.
Led by head coach Rob Bareford, the Lobos have an ambitious schedule that will see UNM face UCLA in the ITA Kickoff Classic next weekend. Additionally, the 2026 season will see UNM play seven Mountain West games with the addition of Grand Canyon.
For this weekend, the Lobos will take on an 0-3 Idaho team that lost twice in its last outing at Grand Canyon, falling 6-1 and 5-2. Western New Mexico has not played yet, and its season opener will be against UNM.