LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The NM State men's tennis team looks to finish strong in the final Western Athletic Conference cluster this weekend in Kansas City, hosted by UMKC.
 
First up for NM State will be the 'Roos (11-6, 2-0 WAC) at noon MT) on Friday, April 8. The Aggies will then wrap up conference play against Chicago State (2-16, 0-2 WAC) at noon once again on Saturday, April 9.
 
NEEDING SOME LUCK
Sitting at 2-1 in Western Athletic Conference play and trailing Grand Canyon (3-0) by one game, the men's tennis will need to run the table at this weekend's WAC cluster and hope that Seattle U (8-13, 0-3 WAC) or UMKC (11-6, 2-0 WAC) can serve the 'Lopes a loss.
 
Even if that scenario plays out, GCU owns the head-to-head over NM State which will give it the No. 1-seed in the WAC Championships. Despite GCU winning the regular-season last season, NM State ended up victorious in the WAC Championships.
 
VETERANS STEPPING UP
With just three returners in his line-up, head coach Carlos Vargas has something to smile about as all three returners enter this weekend with a four and five-match winning-streak.
 
Senior Liam Goldberg, who is 16-7 on the year and 6-3 in dual play, has won five-straight matches. Sophomore Christofer Goncalves is tied for the team lead in wins with freshman Enrique Asmar. The Barquisimeto, Venezuela, product is owns an 18-9 overall singles record and 8-7 during dual play. Like Goldberg he has also won five-straight matches.
 
Senior Strahinja is also seeing success in WAC play, winning his last four matches at No. 2 singles for the Aggies.
 
In doubles, Goldberg and freshman Stijn de Haan have been on a tear. The pair have won seven-straight matches.
 
WAC CHAMPIONSHIPS IN SIGHT
With conference play wrapping up this week, teams will also be keeping their eye on the WAC Championships. This year's championships will be held in Brownsville, Texas, from April 29 to May 1 and hosted by UT Rio Grande Valley. The Aggie men and women both swept the championships last season, earning the WAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
UP NEXT
The NM State men's tennis team will wrap up its regular-season at 10 a.m. (MT) on Saturday, April 16, in its final home match of the season against Western New Mexico. The Aggies will be honoring their two seniors, Strahinja Trecakov and Liam Goldberg.