Utah State Men's Tennis Announces 2016-17 Schedule

Utah State [University] men's tennis is set to defend its 2016 Mountain West regular season championship as first-year head coach James Wilson announced the 2016-17 schedule on Tuesday [Aug. 30]. The Aggies will compete in six fall tournaments before facing a challenging dual match schedule.

"This schedule is strong and will definitely challenge our team," Wilson said. "I believe that we are capable of breaking through into the top-40 in the country, and we will definitely have the opportunities to make this happen. This team is ambitious, and they are excited about mixing it up with some of the country's elite programs."

The year begins with fall tournaments, and three Aggies will see their first action at the Midland Tournament in Midland, Texas, from Sept. 16-18. Then, four Aggies will compete at the Boise State-hosted Boise Fall Invite from Oct. 7-9. Meanwhile, junior Jaime Barajas, the defending Mountain West Player of the Year, will participate in two prestigious events as he joins the field in the Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships held in Tulsa, Okla., from Oct. 5-9, and the ITA Oracle Masters tournament in Malibu, Calif., from Oct. 13-16.

The Aggies will then head to the ITA Mountain Region tournament in Las Vegas, Nev., from Oct. 19-23. Last season, Barajas became the first Aggie to reach the quarterfinals of the ITA Mountain Region Tournament. Utah State will wrap up its fall at the San Diego Hidden Dual held between Oct. 28-30.

After the winter break, the Aggies will begin their Mountain West title defense when they embark on a nine-match road trip beginning at UC Irvine and San Diego, which ended last season ranked No. 29, on Jan. 14 and Jan. 15, respectfully. The road trip continues as USU travels to face No. 39 Washington on Jan. 20 before squaring off against Gonzaga in a neutral site match in Seattle, Wash., on Jan. 21. For their third match in three days, the Aggies will travel to Eugene, Ore., to take on Oregon on Jan. 22.

The Aggies will then head to Fort Worth, Texas, for two matches at TCU's tennis center. First, the Aggies will face No. 68 Wichita State on Jan. 28 before facing either No. 3 TCU or No. 70 Pacific on Jan. 29. Utah State will end its season-opening road trip when it travels to Tucson, Ariz., to face former head coach Clancy Shields and the Arizona Wildcats on Feb. 3 and Depaul on Feb. 4.

The Aggie netters will open their home schedule and their Mountain West title defense on Feb. 20 when they host No. 69 New Mexico. Then, No. 61 BYU will make their first trip to Logan in series history on March 4, after the Aggies won the previous two meetings in Provo. Utah State will travel to San Luis Obispo, Calif., to face former Big West rival No. 62 Cal Poly on March 7, before facing both No. 67 Loyola Marymount and Georgetown on March 9 in a doubleheader.

Utah State then has a season-long four-match homestand when it hosts No. 70 Pacific on March 17 before hosting a doubleheader against Eastern Washington and Idaho on March 19. The Aggies will continue Mountain West play against San Diego State on March 25. USU then travels to Las Vegas, Nev., to face Mountain West foe UNLV on April 2, before returning home to face Saint Mary's on April 6 and competing in another doubleheader against Air Force and Weber State on April 7.

The Aggies will wrap up the regular season on the road at Fresno State, at Nevada and at Boise State on April 14, 16 and 22, respectfully. The Mountain West Tournament will be held in Boise, Idaho, from April 27-30.

Utah State returns five letterwinners from last season's Mountain West championship team, including Barajas, the reigning MW Player of the Year. Joining Barajas are senior Jack Swindells, an all-MW honoree in singles last season, junior Andrew Nakajima and sophomores Jonas Maier and Samuel Serrano.

Fans can follow USU's men's tennis team on Twitter, on Facebook or on Instagram. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics or on Instagram.

BOLD matches are at home

* — Mountain West match

Additional Aggie sports news is available at the Athletics website.