Jan. 28, 2010

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The 51st-ranked University of New Mexico men's tennis team (1-0) travels to Columbus, Ohio for the Division I ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The Lobos are slated to duel No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday, Jan. 30, at 8 a.m. MST, and depending on the outcome will meet up with either No. 35 Tulsa or No. 30 Notre Dame. The championship match is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 31 at 7 a.m. with the consolation match at 10:30 a.m.

Live scoring is available for both matches through links on golobos.com.

The Kick-Off Weekend occurs at 15 college campuses around the nation, serving as a qualifier for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The event showcases the Top 60 men's varsity teams in the country. The event dates back to 1973 and is the ITA's longest running national championship.

The Lobos participated in the event last season, also traveling to Ohio State, where they lost in the opening match, 3-4, to No. 30 Virginia Tech before defeating No. 64 Stetson, 4-0, in the consolation finals. The winner of the four-team, opening-round site advances to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Feb. 12-15 at University of Virginia.

MIGHTY COMPETITION
The Lobos are 9-5 combined against the three teams competing this weekend.

Ohio State, 2-0, ranks among the top collegiate tennis programs in the nation, coming off a 36-2 season in 2009. The Buckeyes finished with a No. 2 ranking after losing to USC, 4-1, in the 2009 NCAA Championship. UNM is 2-1 against Ohio State all-time, winning in the last meeting, 6-1, in 1997. Ohio State has a remarkable home winning streak of 91, dating back to 2003.

Tulsa sports a 5-1 record thus far after posting a 22-10 mark in 2009 and finishing the season ranked 29th. The Golden Hurricane advanced to the second round of the 2009 NCAA tournament, falling to No. 6 Baylor. UNM is 4-3 against Tulsa all-time, but was dealt a loss in the last meeting, 5-2, in 2003.

Notre Dame comes into the weekend with a 2-1 mark, its only loss to No. 2 Virginia last weekend. The Fighting Irish also landed in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, losing to No. 35 Michigan in the first round to finish with a 13-13 record and 31st ranking. UNM is 3-1 all-time with their only loss coming in the last meeting, a 4-3 defeat in 1998.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
UNM lost three key seniors in Johnny Parkes, Miles Bugby, and Graeme Kassautzki, and returns just one upperclassmen in junior Joe Wood. The Lobos welcome back a quartet of sophomores who saw plenty of action in 2008-09 in Ben Dunbar, Phil Anderson, Carl Ho and Matt Neeld. Jadon Phillips and Conor Berg are UNM's newest additions, freshmen who were top junior players in their respective regions of the country as high school seniors. Ho ranks 16th in the Mountain region while Phillips comes in at No. 20. For a full outlook, visit golobos.com.

LOBOS WIN SEASON OPENER
The Lobos had no problems in their season opener, defeating 58th-ranked Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 7-0. The Lobos won eight of nine matches. Between the home-opener and the fall season, five Lobos have nine wins or more in singles: Phil Anderson (9-6), Conor Berg (9-5), Carl Ho (10-4), Jadon Phillips (10-5) and Joe Wood (9-5).

2008-09 SEASON RECAP QUICK HITS
• 20-6 finish, second season with 20 wins
• Best winning percentage since the 1984 season
• Best start through 17 matches (15-2) since 1984
• Ranked in the Top 45 nationally all season, including at a season-high No. 32, and finished at No.49
• Won three matches to clinch the Mountain West Conference tournament championship
• First NCAA team appearance since 2004 and 11th overall; Lost to Minnesota, 4-0, in the opening round
• Johnny Parkes: MWC Player of the Year, ITA Regional Senior of the Year; 1-1 at the NCAA Singles Championship; finished career with all-time mark of 97-42, most singles wins by a Lobo
• Head coach Alan Dils earned the MWC Coach of the Year and ITA Mountain Region Coach of the Year honors
• Parkes and Graeme Kassautzki made All-MWC singles team; Parkes and Miles Bugby made All-MWC doubles

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.

Please help the men's and women's tennis teams fight against ALS. For more information contact Roy Cañada at rcanada@unm.edu or at 925-5780.

Lobos Men's Tennis

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