April 10, 2008

Provo, UT (UWIRE) -- The BYU tennis teams will continue conference play this weekend as the men play their last three regular season conference matches and the women look to remain unbeaten against Mountain West opponents.

The men's team will host No. 54 San Diego State Thursday, No. 51 New Mexico Friday and finish the weekend against in-state rival Utah Saturday.

The Cougars are 13-9 this season with a 1-2 conference record and earned a 7-0 win over Air Force two weeks ago before taking last week off.

"The break has come at a great time," coach Brad Pearce said. "It's given our guys time to recharge their batteries. They should be fresh, eager and ready to go."

SDSU dropped to 12-8 on the season and 1-2 in conference play last week with a 5-2 loss to New Mexico. The Cougars defeated the Aztecs 4-3 last season.

New Mexico's upset over the Aztecs last week improved the team to 16-6 on the season and the Lobos will look to add to its 3-0 conference record this weekend. UNM will also try to extend their winning streak to 10 matches.

The Cougars and Lobos have been evenly matched over the past few years with a 4-4 record since 2000.

The men's team will end conference play against Utah Saturday. The Utes improved to 10-9 on the season with a 7-0 sweep of Air Force last week. They are currently 2-2 in conference play. BYU has defeated Utah each year since 1999 with a 4-3 win last season.

In the fall season, several BYU players faced opponents from Utah with mixed results.

'We're not focusing on where we stand in conference," freshman Thomas Shubert said. "We just know we're a team to contend with and Utah needs to be beaten."

This weekend the team will also play host to past players at its alumni weekend. Current and former members of the men's team will gather for dinner on Friday night and alumni will enjoy hospitality tents set up during each of the matches.

The team will play all matches at the outdoor courts at 1: 30 p.m. Admission is free and pizza will be provided to fans Thursday and burgers and chips will be provided Friday and Saturday. The team will also give prizes to fans during the Utah match on Saturday, including an autographed Pete Sampras jersey.

The No. 39 BYU women's team will spend its second week on the road as it travels to New Mexico to face No. 24 TCU and No. 55 New Mexico.

The Cougars defeated both teams when they met last season. The Cougars are 5-0 in conference play this season and four BYU players remain undefeated in singles play against Mountain West opponents.

"We're just trying to loosen up and get our game to the highest point we can at the end of the season," coach Craig Manning said.

Friday the women's team will play a tough TCU team. The Horned Frogs are also unbeaten in conference play and have a 15-4 record on the season. TCU earned a 5-2 win over San Diego State last week and extended its winning streak to eight matches. The Horned Frogs doubles pair of Anna Sydorska and Macall Harkins is currently ranked No. 12 in the country.

New Mexico fell to 12-7 on the season after being swept by UNLV last week. The Lobos are 4-1 in conference play this season.

(C) 2008 The Daily Universe via UWIRE