LOGAN, Utah – Utah State men's tennis will enter the Mountain West Men's Tennis Championships as the No. 2 seed and will face the seventh-seeded Boise State Broncos in the first match of the tournament on Thursday, April 25, at 4 p.m. (MT). No. 3 Fresno State, serving as the tournament host, will play in the final match of the day at 7 p.m. (MT) against No. 6 Nevada.
No. 1 New Mexico and No. 8 Air Force will open the tournament at 10 a.m. (MT), while No. 4 San Diego State and No. 5 UNLV will kick off their quarterfinal match at 1 p.m. (MT). Semifinal matches are scheduled for noon, and 4 p.m., on Friday, April 26, with the championship match slated for Saturday, April 27, at 2 p.m. (MT).
Utah State came away with a 4-0 victory over Boise State in their regular season finale on Saturday, April 20 in Boise. Juniors Sergiu Bucur and Duro Opacic earned a 6-3 win at the No. 3 doubles, while freshman Rithvik Bollipalli and sophomore Jose Carvajal clinched the doubles point at the top spot with a 6-4 final. Opacic and Carvajal then posted wins at No. 6 and No. 2 singles, before sophomore Felipe Acosta sealed the win for the Aggies with a 7-5, 6-3 triumph at the No. 4 spot.
With Opacic's win, he now has 27 singles wins this season, which is the most in a single season in program history. Acosta also put his name in the all-time program record books, as the Chascomus, Argentina, native now has 19 dual match singles wins this season, which is the most by an Aggie in program history.
USU finished the regular season with a 18-8 mark overall, including a 6-1 ledger in Mountain West play. Acosta recorded the most wins during the regular season with 19 victories during dual match play, followed by Opacic with 18 and Carvajal and Bollipalli tied with 15. Acosta's total included a 5-1 mark in Mountain West contests, playing exclusively at the No. 4 spot, as went 14-1 overall in that spot and clinched a team-high seven matches.
Opacic recorded the most victories for the Aggies on the doubles courts, posting 14 wins during the dual match season, playing exclusively at the No. 3 spot in the lineup. The duo of Opacic and junior Sergiu Bucur is currently riding a three-match winning streak and has won a team-high-tying three matches during conference play, as the pair of Bollipalli and Carvajal have also recorded three wins in Mountain West action.
Every match of the 2019 Mountain West Men's Tennis Championship will be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network. More information can be found on the Mountain West's website, www.themw.com.
Fans can follow USU's men's tennis team on Twitter @USUMensTennis, on Facebook at UtahStateMensTennis or on Instagram at USUTennis. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter at @USUAthletics, on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics or on Instagram at @USU Athletics.
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