BROWNSVILLE, Texas – The New Mexico State men's tennis team will get a chance to defend its Western Athletic Conference Championship title on Sunday, April 28, at Noon (MT) thanks to a tightly contested 4-1 victory over No. 3-seed Kansas City Saturday afternoon at the Brownsville Tennis Center.
 
Sunday's championships match will mark NM State's sixth-consecutive appearance in the title match. The Aggies have won three of the last five WAC Championships it has appeared in and looks to make it 4-of-6 on Sunday.
 
Doubles action opened things up with NM State's No. 2 tandem of Stijn de Haan and Mauri Benitez beating UMKC's (10-12) pair 6-3. The Roos took court No. 3 when Nicolas Buitrago and Luis Flores were bested 6-3 before NM State's top doubles team of Louis Menard and Enrique Asmar clinched the point with a 6-4 win over Diego Giraldo and Ben Stride.
 
Buitrago gave the Aggies (15-9) an early 2-0 lead after cruising past Anil Patil at the No. 6 singles position 6-4, 6-0 before de Haan made it a 3-0 advantage for New Mexico State with a testy 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 victory at the top singles slot.
 
Menard fought back in his match on court No. 2 and took the second set but couldn't fend off UMKC's Stride and fell 6-3, 3-6, 6-0. However, that point and win for the Roos was short-lived as Martin Simecek finished off Tom Kruse 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in a three-set rally and clinched the match.
 
With the win, New Mexico State will get a chance to not only defend its title but also get another crack at top-seed Grand Canyon – who have had the best of NM State in two matches this season. The Aggies and Roos will square off for the WAC's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament at Noon (MT) on Sunday, April 28, at the Brownsville Tennis Center.