LOGAN, Utah — Utah State men's tennis head coach Aaron Paajanen has announced the signing of Nuno Pinheiro, who will be joining the team for the dual match season.

"We are excited to welcome Nuno to the team and to Utah State this spring," Paajanen said. "Nuno is a talented player and a hard worker who loves to compete."

Pinheiro (Sintra, Portugal) currently holds world rankings of 272nd in the ITF Junior Rankings, 662nd in the ITF Men's Rankings and 1,978th in the ATP Doubles Rankings. Across juniors play, Pinheiro has compiled a 24-7 singles record and a 23-8 doubles record with wins in both the singles and doubles draws at the J5 Porto in Portugal. Pinheiro also won the singles draw at the J4 Gunskirchen and J4 Bludenz in Austria plus the doubles draw at the J4 Leiria in Portugal. 

"Pinheiro's experience playing high level events will transition well into the college format," assistant coach Hunter Clark said. "We couldn't be more excited to have him in Logan."

Pinheiro also has experience playing on the ITF World Tennis Tour, going 10-7 in singles play and 1-4 in doubles matches during qualifying draws in the past year. Pinheiro won three-consecutive matches at the M25 Sintra in Portugal to advance out of the qualifying draw into the main draw of the tournament.

"Through the process, both Hunter and I have really enjoyed getting to know Nuno and his family," Paajanen said. "The team is getting more than just a good tennis player."

Utah State men's tennis begins its 2023 dual match season at Oregon on Friday, Jan. 20, at 11 a.m. (MT).

Fans can follow USU's men's tennis team on Twitter @USUMensTennis, on Facebook at /UtahStateMensTennis or on Instagram at USUMensTennis.  Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.
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