May 6, 2004
LAS VEGAS - UNLV men's tennis standout Henner Nehles has earned an invitation to the NCAA Singles Championship to be held in Tulsa, Okla., on May 26-31, the national governing body announced Thursday.
The top four players in each of the NCAA's eight regions earn automatic bids and the sophomore from Duisburg, Germany, earned his berth from the Mountain Region. The field of 64 will also include 32 at-large players. The draw will be released the week of the tournament. Joining him at the singles tournament will be fellow Mountain West Conference players Divan Coatzee of New Mexico, Eric Nyman of BYU and Felix Hardt of San Diego State.
Named All-MWC for the second time in as many years, Nehles holds a 16-7 overall record, including a 12-5 mark at the No. 1 dual position. He has been ranked as high as 55th in the nation and currently stands at 73. A two-time MWC Player of the Week this spring, Nehles' biggest victory came over 11th-ranked Michael Kogan of Tulane on February 7 in New Orleans. "Henner has really matured into a solid No. 1 player for us," UNLV interim head coach Owen Hambrook said. "He has earned his way into the biggest tournament of the year and hopefully he can find success there. I know he is excited to get the opportunity."
Nehles will become the first Rebel to compete at the event since Thomas Schneiter made it into the Round of 16 in 2002 en route to All-America honors. Former Rebel Nenad Zivkovic earned a bid to the 2001 tournament but was forced to withdraw prior to competing because of a shoulder injury. Also, Asaf Tishler was ousted in the first round for two straight seasons, including falling to top seeded James Blake in 1999's tournament.
Four other Rebels have competed at the final leg of the Collegiate Grand Slam with some spectacular results. Luke Smith went to two tournaments and, as a senior in 1997, rolled through the field to win the school's first tennis national championship. He then teamed with Tim Blenkiron a few hours later to win the doubles title as well.
Two-time All-American Roger Pettersson holds the school record of qualifying for the most such tournaments with three (1994-96). Overall, UNLV men have a sparkling 11-9 record all-time in singles play. Below is the complete list of Rebels at the NCAA Singles Championship.
UNLV IN THE NCAA MEN'S TENNIS SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPPLAYER YEAR(S) RECORDHenner Nehles 2004 TBAThomas Schneiter 2002 2-1Nenad Zivkovic 2001 WithdrewAsaf Tishler 1998, '99 0-2Luke Smith 1996, '97 6-1Roger Pettersson 1994, '95, '96 0-3Scott Warner 1986, '87 3-2TOTAL 12 11-9
