The New Mexico men’s and women’s tennis teams prepare for their respective USTA/ITA Regionals, with the women playing first — beginning Wednesday — as the host of the event.
Women’s tennis head coach Stephanie Wooten-Quijada said she has never hosted the event before, but expects the environment to be an exciting one when the tournament kicks off.
The women’s regional tournament will likely take place at the McKinnon Family Tennis Center, weather permitting, from Oct. 12 to 16. The men’s team will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada to compete from Oct. 19 to 23.
“It’s always nice to play on our home court,” Wooten-Quijada said. “I think we’re going to get a lot of fans out, which makes it a good college tennis atmosphere.”
A couple of players have been battling injuries, but six members are expected to represent the Lobos. With five seniors, New Mexico should have the tools needed to make a deep run.
The tournament marks the first and only occasion where the team will compete at home this fall.
“I’m excited to watch the girls play on their home courts for the first time. It’ll be nice to coach it,” she said.
Wooten-Quijada said it is difficult to forecast how the at-large bids might shake out, but she thinks the players will have to win the tournament to earn their way to New York.
Both squads will have an opportunity to advance players to the USTA/ITA National Indoors in Flushing Meadows, New York, as winners in singles and doubles play earn automatic bids.
On the men’s side, Hayden Sabatka and Bart Van Leijsen might receive at-large bids due to their high ranking, but the team isn’t approaching the tournament with that mindset either.
Ben Dunbar, the men’s head coach, said the mindset is to go to Las Vegas and win the whole thing.
“You never really know how those things work,” Dunbar said. “We’re pushing them to go with the attitude that they need to win it, and they are very capable of doing it.”
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Dunbar said the team’s duo, ranked No. 15 in the nation, is capable of playing at a level that is the best in the country, and are equally as strong in singles play.
Sabatka and Van Leijsen competed in the USTA/ITA All-American tournament last week and earned a split over a pair of nationally ranked top-25 opponents.
The head coach said the team plans to enter six players into the field, and he feels each of the men possess the tools necessary to earn a spot in nationals.
He said everyone wants to be able to make the trip to New York, and it is a good platform for the team to play good tennis and earn a nice reward for doing so.
“It’s a fun week, lots of matches,” he said. “Hopefully, we can do something special.”
Robert Maler is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers cross country, football, tennis and track and field. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler.
