LAS CRUCES, N.M. – After 61 days and 13 matches in the books, the New Mexico State men's tennis team finally returns home to the friendly confines of the NM State Tennis Center as it plays host to the first Western Athletic Conference pod of matches this weekend.
 
The Aggies return home with a record of 9-8 on the season and look to improve upon its 2-0 record at home this weekend. Leading the charge for NM State is sophomore Louis Menard, who owns an 18-10 overall record in singles action and 9-6 mark in dual action to pace the Aggies.
 
Seniors Stijn de Haan and Mauri Benitez are second on the team in overall wins with a dozen each while Enrique Asmar, Nicolas Buitrago and Martin Simecek each check in with 11 wins of their own. However, Benitez (8-3) and Buitrago (7-5) are the only other players other than Menard to be above .500 in dual play.
 
First up for New Mexico State in conference play will be UT Rio Grande Valley, who it narrowly edged less than a month ago 4-3 at the H-E-B Tournament of Champions. The two are set to square off on Friday, March 29, at 1 p.m. The Vaqueros are 3-15 on the year and recently snapped a 13-game losing skid with a 4-0 victory against Alcorn State.
 
The following day, the Aggies have a 9 a.m. (MT) date with Chicago State. The Cougars enter the weekend 3-14 overall with their wins coming against UIC, Prairie State College and Eastern Illinois.
 
NM State will then wrap up the weekend with a 1 p.m. contest against Kansas City at the NM State Tennis Center on Sunday, March 31. The Roos are 5-9 on the season since the start of dual play and recently picked up a win over Northwest Missouri State before falling to Creighton at home in a tightly contested match 4-3.
 
The Aggies will host senior day on Tuesday, April 9, at 2 p.m. against NMMI before hitting the road to Seattle, Wash., to wrap up conference play (April 12-13) before heading to Edinburg, Texas, for the conference tournament (April 26-28) hosted by UTRGV.