Oct. 23, 2001

LAS VEGAS - More than 140 men's collegiate tennis players will compete this week at the 2001 Omni Hotels Western Regional Championships to be held for the fifth consecutive year at the Fertitta Tennis Complex on the UNLV campus.

Members from 16 western teams will face off as individuals from Wednesday through Sunday on 12 courts each day in both singles and doubles. The tournament is one of 15 regionals across the nation being played this week. Winners advance to the 2001 Omni Hotels National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships on November 8-11 in Dallas, Texas.

Four of the nation's top-100 players will be in action here: 13th-ranked and top-seeded Oliver Maiberger of San Diego State, No. 74 Mark Roberts of Boise State, No. 83 Carlos Lozano of BYU and No. 89 Guillaume Bouvier of BSU. Two of the top 50 doubles teams also will compete: BYU's fourth-ranked duo of Gert Vilms and Lozano and No. 46 Maiberger and Ryan Redondo of SDSU. UNLV will field four singles entries and two doubles teams.

In last year's tournament, UNLV's Nenad Zivkovic and Gregor Skorin won the doubles title while Zivkovic reached the singles final, which was won by SDSU's Valentino Pest.

Wednesday's first round, which gets under way at 8 a.m., will feature 50 singles matches and 25 doubles matches. There will be a consolation draw in singles to ensure each entrant at least two matches.

The finals are set for Sunday with the singles championship at 11 a.m. and doubles following. Admission to all matches is free of charge.

TEAMS SENDING COMPETITORS    TOP SEEDSAir Force           SINGLESBoise State             1. Oliver Maiberger, SDSUBYU                 2. Mark Roberts, BSUUniversity of Denver        3. Gert Vilms, BYUEastern Washington      4. Guillaume Bouvier, BSUIdaho                   5. Carlos Lozano, BYUMontana             6. Marcus Berntson, BSUMontana State           7. Thomas Schneiter, UNLVUNLV                8. Dave Mercier, UtahNew MexicoNew Mexico State            DOUBLESNorthern Arizona        1. Lozano/Vilms, BYUSan Diego State             2. Maiberger/Redondo, SDSUUtah                3. Berntson/Roberts, BSUUtah State          4. Harbach/Olsen, BYUWeber State         5. Mercier/Yip, Utah                6. Kowalski/Scott, UNM                7. Archer/Clowes, NMSU                8. Bouvier/Silva, BSU