March 9, 2001

The 73rd-ranked UNLV men's tennis team upset No. 18 Oklahoma State 4-2 in the first round of the HEB Tennis Classic Friday.

The Rebels, who were playing their first match since Feb. 18, improved to 4-2 overall while the Cowboys fell to 5-5. OSU was the highest ranked team that UNLV had defeated since downing No. 13 Harvard on March 9, 1996, at the same tournament.

UNLV began the day by winning both completed doubles matches for one team point. Nenad Zivkovic and Gregor Skorin downed Chris Bates and Fran Krepelka at the top spot, 8-3, while Artin Tafazoli and Leslie Eisinga defeated Jiri Jezek and Anthony Zafiris at the third position, 8-4.

In singles, OSU's 41st-ranked Matt Prentice outlasted No. 45 Nenad Zivkovic at the top spot, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Also winning for the Cowboys was Jezek, who downed Tafazoli 6-3, 6-3 at No. 5.

UNLV, however, won the other three completed matches for the victory. Danny Erez defeated Krepelka at the No. 2 position 6-3, 0-6, 6-3, Skorin won 6-0, 6-1 over Eru Lyndon at No. 3 and Leslie Eisinga closed things out with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win at the sixth spot over Zafiris.

UNLV will next play unranked Louisiana-Lafayette. The tournament runs through Sunday.

UNLV MEN'S TENNIS RESULTS
HEB TENNIS CLASSIC - ROUND ONE
UNLV 4, OKLAHOMA STATE 2
At HEB Tennis Center, Corpus Christi, Texas
SINGLES--
1.  Matt Prentice (OSU) def. Nenad Zivkovic (UNLV) 6-2, 5-7, 6-22.  Thomas Schneiter (UNLV) vs. Chris Bates (OSU)    DNF3.  Danny Erez (UNLV) def. Fran Krepelka (OSU) 6-3, 0-6, 6-34.  Gregor Skorin (UNLV) def. Eru Lyndon (OSU)  6-0, 6-15.  Jiri Jezek (OSU) def. Artin Tafazoli (UNLV)    6-3, 6-36.  Leslie Eisinga (UNLV) def. Anthony Zafiris (OSU)6-2, 2-6, 6-4
DOUBLES--
1.  Zivkovic/Skorin (UNLV) def. Bates/Krepelka (OSU)8-32.  Erez/Schneiter (UNLV) vs. Prentice/Lyndon (OSU) DNF3.  Eisinga/Tafazoli (UNLV) def. Jezek/Zafiris (OSU)8-4