May 26, 2005

LAS VEGAS - UNLV senior men's tennis star Henner Nehles saw his Rebel career come to an end Thursday with a close three-set loss in the second round of the NCAA Singles Championship at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas.

Nehles, currently ranked 74th in the nation, fell victim to arguably the hottest player in the country as 16th-ranked Franticek Babej of South Alabama held on 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 to notch his 26th straight singles victory.

Nehles opened the match by breaking his opponent's service game for a 2-0 lead. However, Babej won four straight games en route to taking the first set 6-3. After rain delayed the start of the second set for 20 minutes, the score stood 3-3 when another thunderstorm rolled in. Three hours later, the pair was back on the court and Babej quickly won two games to take a 5-3 lead. One game away from defeat, Nehles fought off three match points while winning the next three games to take a 6-5 advantage. Babej forced a tiebreaker but Nehles would take it 7-4 to even sets at one apiece.

In the third, Nehles jumped out to a 2-1 lead and was serving game point but instead got broken. Eventually tied at three, Babej won three of the last four games to end it 6-4.

While Nehles saw his 11-match winning streak snapped, Babej improved to 32-2 on the season and has not lost since October 22, 2004. The senior from Slovakia advanced to take on Florida's Greg Ouellette in the Round of 16. The 64-player tournament runs through Monday.

Nehles concluded his senior year at 29-9, which represents the sixth-most wins in a season in program history and best by a Rebel since 1994. One of the most decorated players in program history, his career winning percentage of .712 leaves him eighth on the school's all-time list.

"Even though he wasn't playing his best tennis today, Henner fought like crazy and almost pulled it out," UNLV head coach Owen Hambrook said. "He showed a lot of courage coming back in the second set but it just wasn't enough to get him all the way through. What a great college player Henner was and what a great career he turned in at UNLV. It was a real pleasure coaching him."

NCAA 2005 MEN'S TENNIS SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPAt George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, College Station, TX
SECOND ROUNDThursday, May 26#16 Franticek Babej (South Alabama) def. #74 Nehles (UNLV) 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4