ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --- You can say that the 2026 version of the Lobo Men's Tennis Team is undermanned. You can say that pulling off a second straight Mountain West Tournament title is going to be difficult.
What you can't say is that this team is soft and doesn't fight back. That fight, determination, and grit will be on display on Saturday as UNM hosts rival New Mexico State at McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium at 3 p.m. in the final non-conference match of the season.
The Lobos are 5-13 overall and just 0-3 in the Mountain West, but that really doesn't paint the picture. UNM has lost three straight, all to nationally-ranked opponents, losing to Grand Canyon 4-3 in a match that came down to a third-set tiebreaker, and 4-3 to Boise State in a match that also came down to a third set.
UNM has made strides, maybe none more so than Connor Dils'. The walk-on who wasn't expected to play much this season has been thrust into an everyday role with the team, holding down No. 2 doubles and No. 3 singles. After losing five of his first six singles matches, Dils has gone 2-2 with a big point picked up against Boise State and a clinching win over Lubbock Christian.
He is also unbeaten in his last four doubles matches with Tyler Waddock, another Lobo who has been playing his best tennis of late. Waddock at one point lost nine of 10 matches, but he has turned it around into a steady presence at No. 5 singles, winning three of his last five. None of those were more dramatic than an intense 7-6 (13-11), 6-3 win against Boise State, earning that win with six straight games to finish it off, and having to deal with some Bronco shenanigans when serving.
Perhaps nothing tops the old grit-meter like Dario Ciobotaru, UNM's lone holdover from the title lineup in 2025. Ciobotaru has kept UNM's winning streak at No. 1 singles alive to 29 straight, doing it with a 6-4, 6-4 win over his former teammate Avery Tallakson on Sunday.
The Lobos will be taking on an Aggie squad that is 7-13 on the season and coming off a 4-2 win over Oral Roberts last week.