LAS CRUCES – The New Mexico State men's tennis team will have a tough test ahead of them this weekend when they square off against No. 53 Utah out of the Pac-12 Conference on Saturday at 4 p.m. (MT) in Albuquerque at the Linda Estes Tennis Complex.
 
FRESHMEN LEAD THE WAY
Heading into Saturday's contest, freshmen Enrique Asmar leads the way for NM State (2-6) with an overall record of 14-8 in singles play while Stijn de Haan checks in a No. 3 with a 12-9 record. Sophomore Christofer Goncalves is one ahead of de Haan at 13-7 on the year. However, Asmar and de Haan are tied for the team lead in dual play victories at 4-4, respectively.
 
De Haan's wins in dual play have come at the No. 4 singles slot while Asmar has collected his wins at the No. 6 position. Goncalves has three victories to his name in dual action, playing at the No. 2 singles slot while freshman Mauri Benitez earned his three wins at the No. 5 position.
 
NM State's pair of Asmar and Nicholas Spring leads the pack in doubles play with a 7-7 mark, all in tournament play, while Goncalves and senior Strahinja Trecakov paces the team in dual action at 3-3. The Aggies' other two doubles tandems have only registered one win each in dual play.
 
A LOOK AT THE UTES
Utah is ranked No. 53 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings and has been red-hot since the start of the dual season. The then 69th-ranked Utes opened the season with 11-straight victories before falling to unranked BYU, 5-2. Utah will first play New Mexico on Friday followed by a double-header on Saturday, starting with DePaul before it takes on the Aggies.
 
Playing at the No. 6 singles position, Santiago Sierra paves the way for Utah with an 11-0 mark in dual action. Senior Jamey Swiggart is second on the team with an 8-1 record, playing between the No. 4 and No. 5 slots. Johan Jonhagen is third on the squad with a 7-1 mark in dual play. David Micevski is 6-0, playing predominantly at the No. 3 position, while Egbert Weverink sports a 6-2 record at the No. 2 slot. Matt Cowley rounds out the singles positions for Utah, checking in with a 5-2 mark at the top.
 
Sierra and Weverink are 7-4 in dual play, splitting time between No. 1 (3-4) and No. 2 (4-0) doubles. Jonhagen and Micevski are 7-0 together in the dual season at the No. 3 doubles slot. Cowley and Swiggart own a 6-2 record at No. 2 doubles with both losses stemming from when they played at the No. 1 position.
 
LAST TIME OUT
In its dual home-opener NM State blanked Western New Mexico, 7-0, behind stellar play from top to bottom. Liam Goldberg clinched both the doubles point and match for the Aggies in his return to the lineup. The senior has now won six of his last 10 matches.