May 24, 2005

LAS VEGAS - UNLV men's tennis star Henner Nehles puts his 10-match winning streak on the line Wednesday when he plays his first round opponent at the NCAA Singles Championship, which is being staged at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas.

Nehles, currently ranked 74th in the nation, will take on 39th-ranked Scott Brown (17-6) of Vanderbilt beginning at 9 a.m. PDT. The winner of that match will advance to Thursday's second round to play the winner of Minnesota's Avery Ticer and South Alabama's Franticek Bebej, who is seeded 9-16. The 64-player tournament concludes with Monday's title match.

Named the 2005 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and the ITA Mountain Region Senior of the Year, Nehles currently holds a 28-8 overall record, including a torrid 19-5 mark at the No. 1 dual position. His 28 wins tie for the sixth-most in program history and are the best by a Rebel since 1994. His career winning percentage of .718 puts him eighth on the school's all-time list.

Because Nehles was forced to withdraw from the field with an injury a year ago, he now becomes the first Rebel to compete at the tournament since Thomas Schneiter made it into the Round of 16 in 2002 en route to All-America honors.

"This is a great atmosphere and Henner is very excited to be here," UNLV head coach Owen Hambrook said. "After missing out last year, it's great as a coach to see such a great player finally getting to compete on the national stage."

NCAA 2005 MEN'S TENNIS SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPAt George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, College Station, TX
FIRST ROUNDWednesday, May 25
Henner Nehles (UNLV) vs. Scott Brown (Vanderbilt)9 a.m. PDT