Monday, 04/26/2010

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—The University of New Mexico men’s tennis team wraps up its regular season with an 11 a.m. match against the Air Force Falcons on Saturday, April 24, in Colorado Springs. Due to weather conditions, the match could be moved up to 9 a.m. should it need to be played indoors.

The Lobos will then travel to Las Vegas for the Mountain West Conference tournament, where quarterfinal matches will begin on April 28.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
UNM is coming off a 6-1 win over then-ranked No. 63 TCU that ended a four-match losing streak and concluded the Lobos’ home season. The Lobos are 7-11 overall and have the chance to even their MWC record, which currently stands at 2-3. Air Force has lost nine in a row and sports a 10-11 record and is 0-5 in MWC play. UNM is 31-3 over the Falcons all-time and look to improve their away record on the season as the Lobos are just 1-8 on the road.

SCOUTING AIR FORCE
The Falcons’ last win came on March 21 against Army. After carrying a nine-match winning streak, Air Force reversed its fortunes, losing nine in a row.

OTHER NOTES
UNM has used 10 different doubles combinations during the dual season, including six different pairs at the No. 2 slot.

Head coach Alan Dils, in his 14th season, is nine wins shy of 200 with a 191-129 career coaching mark at UNM.

The Lobos have a small winning edge in singles duals with a 55-51 mark in the spring season. Overall, spring and fall combined, UNM is 104-87 in singles for a .545 percentage.

UNM has lost five matches by the score of 4-3 this season.

Fourteen of UNM’s 18 opponents have been ranked in the ITA Top 75 polls.

FEELING FRESH
Freshmen Conor Berg and Jadon Phillips are making strong statements as Berg has a nine-match singles win streak and a seven-match doubles win streak. Phillips has posted an 11-7 spring record, going 9-4 at the No. 3 position for the Lobos, and is the first Lobo to reach 20 wins in singles this season with a combined record of 20-12 in fall and spring action.

Berg has not lost a singles match since March 6 when the Lobos played then-ranked No. 22 Washington. Berg had lost four in a row, as the freshman started the season 2-6. He is now 11-5 in dual play and 19-10 overall. He is also a perfect 5-0 in conference singles and doubles.

PARTNERS IN CRIME
Berg and Ben Dunbar have pieced together a seven-match win streak in the No. 2 doubles slot, where the tandem has posted a 5-0 conference record. Together, the two are 8-1 overall on the spring.

SERVING UP A CURE
The University of New Mexico men's and women's tennis teams are partnering up with the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association (ALSA) to help in the fight against ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. The tennis teams will coordinate a season-long campaign, Serving Up A Cure, to help raise money for ALS research.
Serving Up A Cure will allow people to get involved in a couple of different ways. Donors can pledge money per match or per set won for either the men's or women's tennis teams. Forms to make donations and instructions for submitting them can be found at GOLOBOS.com on either the men's or women's tennis page. ALS affects adults of all ages, sexes and races. Every 90 minutes someone is diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease and every 90 minutes someone dies from this disease. There is no known cause or cure and the cost for an ALS patient is $200,000 per year.