Match Sixteen
NM State (5-10) vs. UT-Permian Basin (5-8)
Saturday, April 17 | 1:00 p.m. | Las Cruces, N.M. | NM State Tennis Center
THE FIRST SERVE
• After playing their first 15 matches of the season either on the road or at neutral sites, the NM State men's tennis team makes its long-awaited return to the NM State Tennis Complex this Saturday for a non-conference showdown with NCAA Division II adversary UT-Permian Basin. First serve has been set for 1:00 p.m.
• Saturday's match will mark the first time in 455 days in which the Aggies will play at home. NM State has won its last 13 home matches dating back to the start of the 2017-18 season.
• Senior Nicolas Buitrago has gone on quite the tear in singles play through the last month. Over that span, the Bogota, Colombia, native has won all six of his one-on-one bouts to push his singles record to 8-6 overall. Buitrago posted a 4-0 record in WAC regular-season singles battles.
• Redshirt freshman Corey Clarke is another Aggie who hasn't suffered a defeat in singles action through the course of the last month. Clarke has won his last five one-on-one matches putting his tally in singles bouts at 7-6 this year.
• Junior Louis Menard remains the Aggies' leader in singles victories. A winner of consecutive singles matches, Menard's 2021 record stands at 9-4.
• In doubles play, Clarke has teamed with Martin Simecek to produce the team's best pairing. Clarke and Simecek have put forth a 4-6 record in doubles action with two of those wins coming in flight two and another two in flight three.
SCOUTING UT-PERMIAN BASIN | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Three of the Falcons five victories have come in their last four matches. UT-Permian Basin enters Saturday's non-conference match with a 5-8 record and two of those losses have come against NCAA Division I opponents. The Falcons dropped a 4-0 decision to UT Arlington as well as a 6-1 bout with Abilene Christian.
• UT-Permian Basin is 3-6 in matches away from its home venue of the Bush Tennis Center in Midland, Texas.
COMING UP NEXT
• With all of their regular season matches in the books following Saturday's showdown against UT-Permian Basin, the Aggies turn their attention to the postseason. NM State will serve as the host institution for the 2021 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Men's Tennis Tournament. The three-day event will take place at the NM State Tennis Center beginning on Friday, April 30.
++NM State++
