Aggie tennis to battle Big West foe in Vegas
Despite being a member of the Big West Conference, the Utah State men’s tennis team rarely gets a chance to play league matches.
The Aggies played a combined five BWC matches during the 2001 and 2002 seasons — including matches played in the Big West Tournament — and had only two league matches scheduled for this season.
So when the Aggie players and coaching staff found out they were playing Big West foe the University of the Pacific in the opening round of the UNLV Invitational, they were ecstatic.
When USU takes the court against Pacific on Friday at 10 a.m. in Las Vegas, it will make an already enjoyable trip even more worthwhile, said Aggie senior Jordan Butler.
“Yeah, for sure,” he said when asked if playing a conference game made the trip to Las Vegas more worthwhile. “They’re [Pacific] one of the better teams in the conference, so it will give us a chance to measure where we need to be come conference tournament time.”
Friday’s match gives the Aggies (1-4 on the season) a chance to play a Tiger squad who finished second in the BWC to UC Santa Barbara a year ago.
If playing against an upper echelon team in the conference isn’t enough motivation for the Aggies, playing a UOP team who eliminated them from the first round of the BWC tourney should do the trick.
Although the Aggies were able to stay within striking distance in the majority of the matches, the Tigers swept the Aggies 6-0. UOP also defeated USU during the regular season, en route to a 4-1 record in conference play.
“I don’t expect them to be anything but solid all the way through their lineup,” said USU Head Coach Chris Wright.
However, it will be a fairly young UOP lineup as the Tigers (2-1) only return two players from last year’s squad. Then again, both players earned all-league honors, including Niclas Otte, a second-team all-Big West selection in singles.
Young team or not, both Butler and Wright said they expect Pacific to be one of the top teams in the Big West. With German native Guido Baumann as their head coach, Wright said the Tigers have always been able to effectively recruit foreign players.
Butler agreed.
“They recruit really well,” he said. “I didn’t know they lost that many guys, but I’m sure they have guys that are just as good coming in.”
Following its match against Pacific, USU will play either Idaho State or New Mexico State on Saturday. The Aggies will also play Sunday, taking the court against Nevada, Weber State or tourney-host UNLV.
In other first round action, Nevada and Weber State will face off Friday at 1 p.m., with the winner facing the Rebels (first-round bye).
Not only will the tournament be a great endurance test for USU, with the Aggies playing three matches in three days, the tournament will be USU’s first at a lower elevation.
Adjusting to lower elevations is a must for Utah State, as this season’s Big West Tournament is being held in Sacramento, Calif. Playing in Las Vegas won’t be as big of an adjustment as it would be in California, though, Wright said.
“Personally, I like playing in Vegas,” he said, noting the ball tends to fly less in lower elevations. “It’s right there in the middle [elevation-wise], so you have to make a few adjustments, but it’s not anything that should be a problem.”
Aggie note:
After missing USU’s previous match with knee problems, freshman Andrew Marsh will play Friday against the Tigers, Wright said. Whether he is able to play Saturday and Sunday depends on how well they hold up.
–jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu