LAS CRUCES, N.M. – As the 2016-17 season approaches, head women's tennis coach Ivan Fernandez released his team's schedule on Wednesday.
 
This year's schedule features eight dual matches at home and the annual Aggie Invitational in the fall. NM State also picked up hosting duties this season for the WAC Tournament, April 28-30.
 
The Aggies open up the year with their Aggie Invitational (Sept. 23-25), which includes Arizona Christian, Grand Canyon, UTEP, UT Permian Basin, Tarleton State, Western New Mexico and New Mexico before heading west towards Tucson for the Arizona Invitational (Sept. 30-Oct. 2).
 
NM State then kicks things off in October at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Championships (Oct. 12-16), hosted by I-25 rival New Mexico. However, the Aggies will be without Junior Rimpledeep Kaur, who was selected to compete in the prestigious 2016 Oracle ITA Master's held in Malibu, Calif., at the Malibu Racquet Club, Oct. 13-16.
 
With almost a month between matches, Fernandez and company finally wrap up the fall season at the UNLV Invitational (Nov. 11-13).
 
The Aggies begin the 2017 dual season on Friday, Jan. 13, at home against Central Oklahoma before hitting the road for the next month. NM State returns to Las Vegas, Nev., once again in late January where they'll play three matches. First up will be UNLV, who finished last season ranked No. 52 by the ITA, on Jan. 20 followed by Pacific and Weber State the following days.
 
Next up on the schedule for NM State are a pair of road matches against Wyoming (Feb. 3) and Colorado State (Feb. 4). The Aggies were bested by the Cowgirls at home last season in a close 4-3 match and will look to return the favor.
 
New Mexico State finally returns home on Sunday, Feb. 12, as it entertains Houston. The Aggies then head over to the neighboring state of Texas for matches against North Texas (Feb. 24), Stephen F. Austin (Feb. 25) and UT Arlington (Feb. 26).
 
The Aggies then have a couple weeks off to prepare for the start of conference play and defend their regular-season title. NM State hosts the first WAC Cluster, March 17-19, and opens conference play with Seattle U on St. Patrick's Day followed by UMKC (March 18) and UT Rio Grande Valley (March 19) on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
 
They then take a little break with road matches at Abilene Christian (March 22) and UNM (March 25) before flying to Kansas City for the second conference cluster hosted by the 'Roos (March 31-April 1).
 
First up for the Aggies will be Grand Canyon on March 31 before squaring off against Chicago State on Saturday, April 1, to complete the conference slate.
 
NM State then hosts a pair of non-conference tilts against UT San Antonio on Friday, April 7, and UT Permian Basin on April 8. The Aggies then head down I-10 for a battle against at UTEP on April 15, and then return home for their final match of the regular-season at the NMSU Tennis Center against Western New Mexico on Tuesday, April 18, at 2 p.m.
 
The conference tournament will then begin 10 days later on Friday, April 28, and conclude on Sunday, April 30, with the champion earning the WAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.