BROWNSVILLE, Texas – The New Mexico State men's tennis team advanced to the Western Athletic Conference Championship with a 4-0 victory over UT Rio Grande Valley on Saturday at the Brownsville Tennis Center.
 
The win gave NM State (11-9) its fourth-straight win and set the Aggies up for a rematch against UMKC (17-7).
 
New Mexico State didn't waste any time at the start of doubles play thanks to UTRGV (11-14) defaulting at the No. 3 doubles slot due to not having a second doubles player. However, The Vaqueros tied things up when their No. 1 doubles tandem took down Liam Goldberg and Strahinja Trecakov 6-1.
 
But, as they have all season, Christofer Goncalves and Stijn de Han came through for the Aggies with a 6-3 win over UTRGV's No. 2 pair of Elliot Johnstone and Andres Hernandez 6-3 and gave NM State a 1-0 lead heading into singles action.
 
New Mexico State went up 2-0 out of the gate in singles play due to UTRGV defaulting at the No. 6 singles position. Freshman Mauri Benitez gave NM State the match point opportunity after he dominated UTRGV's Hernandez 6-0, 6-1 at No. 5 singles.
 
Goncalves clinched the match for NM State shortly after with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Elliot Johnstone at the No. 2 singles position. The win on Saturday was also Goncalves' ninth-straight victory in singles play.
 
The Aggies now have an opportunity to defend their WAC Championship title at noon on Sunday, May 1, at noon (MT).