THE FIRST SERVE
• NM State's women's tennis team will make the trip down I-10 to compete in the first-ever UTEP Invitational this weekend.
• Play is set to begin on Friday morning with the competition concluding on Sunday afternoon. Athletes will compete in a flighted hidden dual format.
 
THE FIELD
• The Aggies will be joined in El Paso by rivals UTEP and New Mexico as well as Tarleton, UT-Permian Basin and Weatherford College.
 
THE BIG PICTURE
• After a perfect 3-0 weekend, Natsuki Nishimura is now up to five wins in singles play through the Aggies' first two events of the season. The junior is also now riding a team-best four-match win streak dating back to her final match of the Bedford Cup.
• Melissa Cartis battled her way to the title match in the D Flight last week to secure a 4-2 record through the first six matches of her sophomore season.
• Meanwhile, both Georgia Townsend and Lisa Zhu also boast fall win percentages of .500 entering the weekend.
• In doubles action, the tandem of Anna Pinaieva and Lisa Zhu have been solid to open the season – holding a 3-2 record thus far. 
 
For complete coverage of NM State women's tennis, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Women's Tennis), Twitter (@NMStateWTEN) and Instagram (@NMStateWTEN).