May 22, 2002

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - UNLV tennis standout Thomas Schneiter earned his program's first NCAA tournament victory in five years Wednesday at the Texas A&M Tennis Center.

Schneiter swept 2002 Big West Conference Player of the Year Carlos Palencia 6-3, 7-5 to become one of the final 32 players still remaining.

A native of Worb, Switzerland, 62nd-ranked Schneiter improved to 23-7 overall while 58th-ranked Palencia dropped to 22-8. It marked the first time a UNLV men's player won a match at the final leg of the Collegiate Grand Slam since Luke Smith earned the 1997 national championship. The Rebels improved to 10-7 all-time at the event.

"Thomas was a little tight but it was a good first match for him," UNLV head coach Larry Easley said. "It's nice to get a win under his belt and hopefully he'll relax a little bit."

Schneiter, who is making his first appearance at the national championships, needs to win one more match to automatically qualify for All-American status.

In Thursday's second round, Schneiter will take on UCLA's Tobias Clemens (seeded 9-16), a sophomore from Bonn, Germany. Clemens, ranked 10th nationally, needed three sets to down No. 24 Danny Westerman of Wisconsin 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

Overall, the four representatives of the Mountain West Conference split their singles matches. Joining Schneiter in the second round will be San Diego State's Oliver Maiberger while BYU's Gert Vilms and New Mexico's Divan Coatzee were eliminated.