May 15, 1998

LAS VEGAS - John Lundquist, who filled in for an injured player at the sixth spot, rallied to defeat Brandon Fallon and give top-seeded Pepperdine a 4-3 victory over host UNLV in the semifinals of the NCAA men's tennis regional Friday.

The Waves (25-5), ranked ninth, opened the day by winning doubles. They then got wins from Brad Sceney and Kelly Gullet. UNLV, however, picked up victories from Asaf Tishler, Nenad Zivkovic and Danny Erez to pull things even at three and set up the finale on court six. Starter Anthony Ross, who pulled a groin during doubles play, was replaced by Lundquist. After Fallon took the first set, Lundquist rallied to take the final two.

For UNLV (21-11), ranked 47th, it was its fourth-consecutive semifinal loss in the NCAA regionals.

"We gave them a good run," Rebel Head Coach Larry Easley said. "They're No. 9 in the country and we took them down to the last set so I'm proud of my guys."

Pepperdine had defeated UNLV 6-1 on March 28 in Malibu, Calif.

"Obviously we didn't expect it to be so tough but the playoffs are different than the regular season," Pepperdine Head Coach Peter Smith said. "John (Lundquist) has been like an assistant coach with the team. For him to step in and win is huge. He's a good player, we just have a deep team and he hasn't had much chance to play."

Pepperdine advances to play New Mexico in Saturday's final. The Lobos were 4-3 upset winners over second-seeded Boise State Friday.

"New Mexico is the one team here that I don't know much about," Smith said. "They've won two big matches so they're really hot right now."

1998 NCAA REGION VII MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP--SEMIFINALSPEPPERDINE 4, UNLV 3At Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas
SINGLES-1.  Asaf Tishler (UNLV) def. Michael Jessup (PEPP)      7-6, 7-52.  Nenad Zivkovic (UNLV) def. Robert Lindstedt (PEPP)  6-3, 7-53.  Brad Sceney (PEPP) def. Damu Bobb (UNLV)        6-2, 6-04.  Danny Erez (UNLV) def. Eni Ghidirmic (PEPP)     7-5, 6-15.  Kelly Gullett (PEPP) def. Gregor Skorin (UNLV)      6-3, 7-56.  John Lundquist (PEPP) def. Brandon Fallon (UNLV)    4-6, 6-4, 6-2
DOUBLES--1.  Zivkovic/Skorin (UNLV) vs. Gullett/Lindstedt (PEPP) Halted2.  Ross/Sceney (PEPP) def. Tishler/Erez (UNLV)     8-13.  Ghidirmic/Jessup (PEPP) def. Bobb/Andy Tapernoux (UNLV) 8-3