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| Photo courtesy of NMSU Media Relations Department |
The New Mexico State men’s tennis team will not be sneaking up on its opponents this year.
The Aggies are 60th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association top-75 rankings. Despite being nationally, the team has had to overcome its share of challenges in order to get to this point.
“We went through some bumps that were not in the plan,” said NMSU men’s tennis coach Carlos Vargas. “One of them was losing a player who we were forecasting as being our top player; he decided to transfer. We lost another one who is ineligible due to academics.”
However, other players have stepped up and embraced larger roles on the team. One of the rising stars is sophomore Felipe Frattini of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Frattini began showing his potential last season when he won a pivotal match that helped NMSU defeat nationally ranked Denver.
Although he is quickly becoming one of the team’s top players, Frattini admitted there is plenty of room for improvement.
“The first matched wasn’t good,” Frattini said of the team’s opening match against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. “I played a terrible match that I shouldn’t have lost. But in the second match I improved and stepped it up and I think that’s the most important part.”
The team’s resilience stems from the players’ friendship off the court, which has translated into effort and motivation on the court.
“It’s a very cohesive and close team that will work hard and give you everything they have,” Vargas said of his Aggies. “I don’t think there will ever be a question on effort.”
Although the freshmen still have much to learn about competing at the collegiate level, Vargas said they have also bought into the effort displayed by the upperclassmen.
“All I can hope is that they give me their full effort and don’t get overwhelmed by what they see,” Vargas said of the freshmen. “All they can do is just give their best right now, and if they do that they will improve and they will work themselves into the lineup.”
The team’s strong work ethic will certainly play a key role as the Aggies continue their journey to the Western Athletic Conference Championships, which begin on Apr. 27.
However, the WAC Championships are still far down the schedule. NMSU still has a full slate of opponents to hosting the conference championships on Apr. 27-29
Next up for the Aggies are matches against Loyola Marymount on Feb. 03 and UC-Riverside on Feb. 04. The team then returns home to host instate rival New Mexico on Feb. 08 at the NMSU Tennis Complex.
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