by Arthur Simoni and Lee Cornell
Daily Lobo
The Lobo men's tennis team, recently crowned regular season Mountain West Conference co-champions, heads to Provo, Utah today to try and win the MWC tournament and grab an automatic NCAA bid.
"We want to win it," head coach Alan Dils said. "There are some good teams but I certainly think we can beat them all. We have our work cut out for us, but we can certainly accomplish the goals we have set."
UNM wrapped up the regular season with a record of 11-6, 4-1 in conference. Only a loss to BYU on the final weekend of the season prevented the Lobos from claiming the crown outright. UNM, ranked 56th nationally, will try to get back to the NCAAs for the first time in four years.
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Leading the Lobos are seniors Bart Scott and Brent Salazar.
"We've looked to them to step up and provide leadership and they have all year," Dils said of Salazar and Scott.
Scott will play the No. 1 singles spot. He has fared well going 5-5 in his last 10 matches while being consistently pitted against the opponents top players. Meanwhile, Salazar has had a brilliant season in singles and doubles. In doubles, the duo of Salazar and sophomore Ryan Stotland has been virtually unstoppable. The pair is ranked 32nd in the nation and boasts the distinction of having beaten the top doubles team of San Diego State earlier this year.
Junior Divan Coetzee will be another key component to the Lobos' success this weekend. Coetzee is hot - winning nine of his last 10 singles matches - and will need to continue his run if UNM is to have a chance of winning the tournament.
Jasmin Hodzic will also be looked to for strong play in Provo. Hodzic is a 6-foot-5-inch junior and has experienced a vast improvement in his game from last year.
"Hodzic is another guy who has been around for four years," Dils said. "Those guys know what to expect and should be able to pass that down to the younger guys."
The Lobos have a first-round buy and will play their opening match against the winner of the first round match between BYU and UNLV on Friday at 1 p.m. in Provo.
