April 17, 2005

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The 51st-ranked UNLV men's tennis team lost its final regular-season match, 5-2, to No. 60 New Mexico on Sunday at the Air Force Academy Outdoor Courts.

The Rebels fell to 15-7 overall and 2-3 in the Mountain West Conference while the Lobos improved to 9-7 and 3-2 after the upset victory.

The afternoon began with a spirited doubles effort. UNLV won at the third spot as Aviram Salomon and Martin Redelinghuys prevailed 9-7. However, Lobo duos won close contests at both of the top two positions to secure the early team point.

In singles, UNM won two of the three three-set matches to help clinch the victory.

Rebel freshman David Campbell scored one of his team's two points with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 final over Kamil Pajkowski on court four.

UNLV's other success came at the top spot where senior star Henner Nehles finished off a perfect run through the Mountain West. His 7-6, 7-5 win over Max Jones moved the No. 63-ranked Nehles to 5-0 at the top spot in league play. The results make him the leading contender for the program's first conference player of the year award, which will be announced later this month, in nine years.

With the MWC tournament and NCAA tournament play still to come, Nehles' 26-8 overall singles record already gives him the most wins in a season since two-time All-American Roger Pettersson picked up 27 in 1996. The German also boasts a sparkling 19-5 doubles record.

"It was satisfying to see Henner go undefeated in the Mountain West Conference and he has proven he clearly deserves to be the league MVP," UNLV head coach Owen Hambrook said. "Now we need to regroup as a team and bounce back at the conference tournament."

The Rebels will have next week off before traveling to the MWC Championship tournament in San Diego on April 28-30.

UNLV MEN'S TENNIS RESULTS#60 NEW MEXICO 5, #51 UNLV 2At USAF Outdoor Courts, Colorado Springs
DOUBLES: (UNM EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)1. #5 Stotland/Kowalski (UNM) def. Kielbowicz/Campbell (UNLV) 8-62. Jones/Pajkowski (UNM) def. Nehles/Jonathan Hooper (UNLV) 8-53. Salomon/Redelinghuys (UNLV) def. Conklin/Boland (UNM) 9-7
SINGLES: (UNM EARNS FOUR POINTS)1. #63 Henner Nehles (UNLV) def. Max Jones (UNM) 7-6, 7-52. Ryan Stotland (UNM) def. Aviram Solomon (UNLV) 7-5, 6-13. David Kowalski (UNM) def. Joel Kielbowicz (UNLV) 4-6, 6-4, 6-44. David Campbell (UNLV) def. Kamil Pajkowski (UNLV) 2-6, 6-2, 6-25. Eric Conklin (UNM) def. Romain Massaro (UNLV) 6-7, 7-6, 1-0 (10-7)6. Derek Boland (UNM) def. Martin Redelinghuys (UNLV) 6-2, 6-2