LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Trailing 3-1, the NM State men's tennis team rallied one-by-one in singles play to defeat Weber State, 4-3, for its first win of the dual season Sunday afternoon at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.
 
Once WSU took No. 1 singles for its third point of the match, the Aggies started their rally behind Enrique Asmar's 6-3, 6-2 win on court No. 6.
 
With NM State (1-4) trialing just 3-2 after Asmar's win, Christofer Goncalves found some extra fire to battle back and oust the Wildcat's Todd Fought 7-6, 7-6.
 
With the match all squared up, 3-3, it came down to freshman Mauri Benitez on court No. 5. Benitez by no means had it easy against Weber State's (1-4) Sanjay Goswami. The freshman went down 6-4 in his first set, but was able to battle back with a 6-3 win and force a third set. With the match tied at 3-3 in the decisive third set, Benitez won three-straight games to clinch NM State's first victory of the dual season with a 6-3 win.
 
The Aggies went into singles play down 1-0 after Weber State took wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, despite Strahinja Trecakov and Goncalves winning doubles No. 1.
 
NM State will now head home for a few days before flying to Wichita, Kan., for a pair of matches on the campus of Wichita State against Nebraska (Feb. 13) and Wichita State (Feb. 14).
 
Match #5
NM State 4, Weber State 3
February 7, 2016
Fertitta Tennis Complex
Las Vegas, Nev.
 
Doubles

1. Trecakov/Goncalves (NMSU) def. Cooper/Goswami (WSU) – 6-2
2. Fought/Gewert (WSU) def. de Haan/Benitez (NMSU) – 6-1
3. Hintze/Chen (WSU) def. Asmar/Springer (NMSU) – 6-3

Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*
 
Singles

1. Jakub Gewert (WSU) def. Strahinja Trecakov (NMSU) – 6-4, 6-2
2. Christofer Goncalves (NMSU) def. Todd Fought (WSU) – 7-6, 7-6
3. Stefan Cooper (WSU) def. Nicholas Springer (WSU) – 6-3, 6-3
4. Stijn de Haan (NMSU) def. Hou-En Chen (WSU) – 6-3, 6-3
5. Mauri Benitez (NMSU) def. Sanjay Goswami (WSU) – 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
6. Enrique Asmar (NMSU) def. Scott Hintze (WSU) – 6-3, 6-2

Order of Finish: 4, 3, 1, 6, 2, 5*)