April 26, 2001
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The last time it played a match back on April 7, an injury-plagued UNLV men's tennis team handed Air Force its biggest victory in school history, falling 4-2. On Thursday, a rested and healthy Rebel squad got revenge by shutting out the Falcons 4-0 in the first round of the Mountain West Conference championships being played at the Snowbird Canyon Racquet Club.
Third-seeded UNLV, ranked 49th, improved to 12-9 overall and 3-3 in the league while 75th-ranked and sixth-seeded Air Force fell to 16-11 and 1-5. The Rebels advance to take on second-seeded New Mexico in one of Friday's semifinals after the Lobos received a first-round bye.
"It was nice to get a match under our belts and get acclimated to the altitude," UNLV head coach Larry Easley said. "The guys were a little sloppy but if we step up our play in the next round, we have a chance against New Mexico."
The Rebels began the day by winning both completed doubles matches for one team point. Nenad Zivkovic and Gregor Skorin teamed for an 8-4 victory at the top spot while Leslie Eisinga and Artin Tafazoli won at the third position 8-5. The match on the second court did not finish.
In singles play, the Rebels did not lose a set in the completed matches. Schneiter won at No. 2, Danny Erez swept his opponent at No. 3, and Eisinga closed things out with a straight-set victory at No. 6. The remaining matches were then halted.
UNLV MEN'S TENNIS RESULTS
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS - ROUND ONE
UNLV 4, AIR FORCE 0
At Snowbird Canyon Racquet Club, Salt Lake City
SINGLES--
1. Nenad Zivkovic (UNLV) vs. Eric Pittman (AFA) DNF2. Thomas Schneiter (UNLV) def. Kyle Rainey (AFA) 6-3, 6-13. Danny Erez (UNLV) def. Rene Ramirez (AFA) 6-2, 6-14. Gregor Skorin (UNLV) vs. Chris Zielinksi (AFA) DNF5. Artin Tafazoli (UNLV) vs. Justin Mancinelli (AFA)DNF6. Leslie Eisinga (UNLV) def. Doug Fife (AFA) 6-2, 6-3
DOUBLES--
1. Zivkovic/Skorin (UNLV) def. C. Zielinski/Greg Zielinski (AFA)8-42. Erez/Schneiter(UNLV) vs. Pittman/Mancinelli (AFA) DNF3. Eisinga/Tafazoli (UNLV) def. Ramirez/Rainey (AFA) 8-5
