April 29, 2002

LAS VEGAS - UNLV has its first-ever freshman of the year honoree as rookie Aviram Salomon led the way for the Rebels in the Mountain West Conference awards, which were announced by the league.

Salomon, from Jerusalem, Israel, went 18-13, including 13-7 in dual matches, playing at the No. 3 position in the lineup. He earned the league's player-of-the-week honor after upsetting the nation's 82nd-ranked player from Auburn on March 26. Salomon closed out the season by winning both of his singles matches at the conference championship this weekend.

UNLV's only other honoree was senior star Thomas Schneiter. The native of Worb, Switzerland, was a repeat member of the 2002 All-MWC Singles Team after posting a 22-7 overall record, including a 15-4 mark at the top singles spot. Currently ranked 65th, Schneiter upset the nation's No. 1-ranked player, Al Garland of Pepperdine, on April 6 in Malibu, Calif. Schneiter, who finished with a 6-2 mark vs. league opponents, is expected to earn a spot in the 64-man NCAA Singles Championship field, which will compete in College Station, Texas, in May.

League champion San Diego State won the two other major awards with player of the year Oliver Maiberger and coach of the year John Nelson.

2002 MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE MEN'S TENNIS AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Oliver Maiberger    SDSUFRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:   Aviram Salomon         UNLVCOACH OF THE YEAR:  John Nelson     SDSU
ALL-MWC SINGLESEric Pittman*       Air ForceCarlos Lozano*      BYUGert Vilms*     BYUDivan Coetzee       UNMMichael Polasek*    UNMBart Scott*     UNMFelix Hardt     SDSUOliver Maiberger*   SDSUValentino Pest*     SDSUThomas Schneiter*   UNLVDavid Mercier*      UtahCorrie Scheepers    Utah
ALL-MWC DOUBLESChris Zielinski/Greg Zielinski* Air ForceCarlos Lozano/Gert Vilms*   BYUBart Scott/Michael Polasek  UNMFelix Hardt/Valentino Pest  SDSUOliver Maiberger/Ryan Redondo   SDSUDavid Mercier/Nick Yip      Utah
*Repeat honoree