LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The NM State men's tennis team heads to Las Vegas, Nev., this weekend for a trio of matches at the Fertitta Tennis Complex on the campus of UNLV.
 
First up for the Aggies will be the host, UNLV, on Friday at noon (MT). New Mexico State will then battle UC Riverside at noon on Saturday (Feb. 6) before finishing with Weber State on Sunday, Feb. 7, at 10 a.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
After getting swept in its dual season opener to No. 69 Arizona, New Mexico State came out firing on all cylinders in its second match versus Gonzaga. However, the Aggies saw their 3-0 lead wither way and as the Bulldogs reeled off four-straight victories in singles action for the come from behind win.
 
The bright spot for head coach Carlos Vargas is that his freshman have stepped up and won of their points against GU. The wins are a good sign to come later in the year for NM State after losing a bulk of his team due to graduation, which culminated in the Aggies winning the Western Athletic Conference.
 
SCOUTING THE REBELS
UNLV opened its season in similar fashion to New Mexico State, getting swept 7-0 by then-No. 25 Oklahoma State. The Rebels, however, responded in their next match against Creighton with a whitewashing of the Bluejays.
 
All but one match in singles play took two sets for the Rebels while giving up only four games total in doubles action.
 
UNLV return 3-of-5 players with double-digit wins from last year's squad. In doubles play, the most wins a Rebel team won was eight (8-6). Adam-Gage Brown and Ace Matias went 7-6 on the year in dual play while the duo of Ruben Alberts and Jakob Amilon went 7-7.
 
HELLO TO THE HIGHLANDERS
NM State's three-match weekend continues on Saturday when it squares off with the Highlanders of UC Riverside. UCR is 1-5 so far on the year with its lone win coming against Lewis-Clark State College, a 4-3 decision, an NAIA school that was ranked 20th when they played.
 
UC Riverside also played Arizona a week before the Aggies, but fell in the same fashion – 7-0. The Highlanders opened their season with a pair of matches against Nevada and San Diego State out of the Mountain West Conference, both ended in losses.
 
Calvin Ngo and Kyle McCann currently pace UCR in singles play with a pair of wins each since the start of the dual season. Hans Baumstark has teamed up with two different partners to grab a pair of wins in doubles action, both at the No. 3 position.
 
WILDCATS WRAP UP
In its final match of the weekend, NM State will play Weber State at 10 a.m. (MT) on Sunday, Feb. 7. The Wildcats enter this weekend 0-2 so far on the year, with losses coming against in-state foes – BYU (7-0) and Utah (4-2).
 
WSU will be a tough opponent despite its 0-2 record early on in the dual season. The Wildcats return all five players that tallied double-digit wins for them from last season. Landon Barlow paced the team with a 16-4 record in singles, playing at the No. 4 slot. Todd Fought was right behind him with a 15-9 record, splitting time between the No. 2 and No. 3 singles position. Hou-En Chen was third on the squad with a 12-7 record with eight of his 12 wins coming at the No. 6 spot. Stefan Cooper and Sanjay Goswami are the other two players that recorded double-digit wins, with both players checking in at 10 wins.
 
In doubles action, the Weber State duo of Cooper and Goswami had a team-best 14-9 record at the No. 1 spot. Barlow and Chen were right on their tales with a 12-0 record – 11 of which came at the No. 3 doubles spot.
 
UP NEXT
The Aggies will return home for a few days before heading off to the mid-west for a pair of matches in Wichita, Kan. Up first for NM State will Nebraska at 1 p.m. (MT) on Saturday, Feb. 13. The Aggies will then play host, Wichita State, at 10 a.m. on Sunday.