Oct. 24, 2006

LAS VEGAS - UNLV men's tennis players did enough in last week's ITA individual tournament to earn one of four coveted spots in the annual Mountain Region Team Playoff, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced Tuesday.

Although it was an individual tournament held at the Darling Tennis Center Oct. 18-22, the Rebels compiled enough points in the singles and doubles scoring system to come in fourth out of the 14 teams that entered players in the field.

The top four teams earn a bid to face off in a one-day tournament at the first-place team's site. The winner of the playoff earns an automatic bid to the National Team Indoor Championships, which will be held this season on Feb. 16-19 in Chicago.

Because it came in first in scoring, Boise State will host the event and face fourth-seed UNLV on January 20 at the Appleton Tennis Center. BYU will face New Mexico in the other semifinal with the two winning teams playing each other later that same day.

"One of our goals this fall was to qualify for the indoor playoffs," said UNLV head coach Owen Hambrook, whose team has qualified for the tournament twice in the last three years. "This is a testament to the players' hard work and consistent play during the tournament.

"To play indoors at Boise State is a memorable experience because of the great fan support they receive. Plus, this earns us an opportunity to play another top-25 team this season, which is always positive."