April 2, 2005

SAN DIEGO - The 40th-ranked UNLV men's tennis team evened its Mountain West Conference record with a key 4-3 victory over No. 57 Utah on the campus of San Diego State Saturday.

UNLV, which was left frustrated after losing by the same score to 58th-ranked BYU on Friday, rebounded nicely to improve to 13-5 overall and 1-1 in the league while the Utes fell to 12-5 and 0-2.

The Rebels fell behind 1-0 after dropping two of three doubles matches. The only UNLV duo to win was Martin Redelinghuys and Jonathan Hooper who downed Tomasz Grzyb and Dan Mascall 8-5 on court three. At the top position, the 45th-ranked Ute duo of Zach Ganger and Miron Mann handed Henner Nehles and Aviram Salomon their first loss off the season (11-1) 8-5.

In singles, the Rebels dominated the top half of the lineup. Winning for UNLV at the top spot was Nehles, who improved to 22-8 overall with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Grzyb. Joel Kielbowicz got by Zach Ganger at No. 2, 6-3, 7-6. David Campbell then outlasted Ryan Scott on court five, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to tie the score at 3-3. The match came down to the third spot where Salomon, who is just getting back from a month away because of injury, forged a big rally to fight off Mann 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-5.

"This was a real nail-biter," UNLV head coach Owen Hambrook said. "It's good to see Aviram slowly getting back. Even with an injury, when the match is on the line, he is the one you want out there and he was able to pull it out against a solid opponent."

The Rebels continue their road trip by taking on host San Diego State Sunday beginning at 12 p.m.

UNLV MEN'S TENNIS RESULTS#40 UNLV 4, #57 UTAH 3At SDSU Tennis Stadium, San Diego, CA
DOUBLES: (UTAH EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)1. #45 Ganger/Mann (UU) def. Nehles/Salomon (UNLV) 8-52. Yap/Coutts (UU) def. Kielbowicz/Campbell (UNLV) 8-43. Hooper/Martin Redelinghuys (UNLV) def. Grzyb/Dan Mascall (UU) 8-5
SINGLES: (UNLV EARNS FOUR TEAM POINTS)1. Henner Nehles (UNLV) def. Tomasz Grzyb (UU) 6-4, 6-42. Joel Kielbowicz (UNLV) def. Zach Ganger (UU) 6-3, 7-6 (2)3. Aviram Salomon (UNLV) def. Miron Mann (UU) 2-6, 7-6 (6), 7-54. Nick Coutts (UU) def. Romain Massaro (UNLV) 6-4, 6-45. David Campbell (UNLV) def. Ryan Scott (UU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-26. Jason Yap (UU) def. Jonathan Hooper (UNLV) 6-1, 6-1