THE FIRST SERVE
• The Aggies kick off their quest for their fourth-ever WAC Tournament title on Thursday as they take on third-seeded Grand Canyon at the Arlington Tennis Center. The Aggies last hoisted the tournament trophy in 2018.
• After collecting a big 4-3 win over Grand Canyon at home on April 2, NM State dropped its final three WAC matches and will be looking to get back in the win column on Thursday afternoon.
• Though the Aggies struggled during regular season play, NM State gets what some might consider a favorable matchup as the Lopes are the lone WAC team the Aggies defeated this season.
• NM State's first win over the Lopes came at home where the Aggies picked up two of its three victories this season. This time around, the Aggies will look to take down Grand Canyon at a neutral site where the Aggies are just 1-8 on the year.
• In order for the Aggies to go on a run of upsets, they will need powerful production from sophomore Luca Fé D'Ostiani and seniors Corey Clarke and Jordy Visser who lead the Aggies in WAC singles wins this season. Fé D'Ostiani paces all Aggies with three wins this season, all of which have come at the No. 6 spot. Meanwhile, both Clarke and Visser tallied a pair of wins over league opponents.
• In doubles action, the Aggies were led during by Yehor Opanasenko and Jordy Visser who closed the regular season with a 3-2 record against opposing WAC doubles teams.
 
SCOUTING THE FIELD
• The WAC Tournament field will consist of all six conference programs and will feature a six-team bracket granting byes to the top two seeds. The seeds for the tournament are as follows: 1-UT Arlington, 2-Abilene Christian, 3-Grand Canyon, 4-Seattle U, 5-UTRGV and 6-NM State.
• As is the case on the women's side as well, the host institution, UT Arlington, earned the top overall seed in the tournament after finishing with a perfect 5-0 record against league opponents.
• Meanwhile, the top-ranked team on the Aggies' side of the bracket will be No. 2 Abilene Christian who finished the regular season with a 4-1 WAC record after losing only to UT Arlington during the season.
• There is a slight drop off following UT Arlington and Abilene Christian as only the Mavericks and Wildcats finished the season with winning records during the season.
• Despite the down year, NM State Head Coach Carlos Vargas still knows how to lead his team to championships as the Aggies are one of just three schools in this year's bracket to have previously won a WAC Tournament. NM State is also the only program with three or more WAC Tournament titles to its name.

UP NEXT
An Aggie win on Thursday would place NM State in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament with a matchup against No. 2 Abilene Christian. The Aggies' second round match would be scheduled for Friday, April 28 at 11 a.m. MDT.
 
Additionally, a win on Friday would place the Aggies in the WAC title match with a spot in the NCAA Tournament on the line. The championship match is scheduled for Saturday, April 29 at 11 a.m. MDT.
 
FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Fans looking to keep up with the Aggies this weekend can follow the action through the Tournament Central page on WACSports.com. Fans can also track the Aggies on Twitter (@NMStateMTEN), Instagram (@NMStateMTEN) and Facebook (NM State Men's Tennis).