March 17, 2006

LAS VEGAS - The 62nd-ranked UNLV men's tennis team stayed perfect at home this season with a 5-2 upset of No. 52 South Carolina at the Fertitta Tennis Complex on Friday.

With their fourth straight victory, the Rebels improved to 11-3 overall and 7-0 at home while the Gamecocks fell to 8-9. UNLV, which avenged a heartbreaking 4-3 home loss to USC a year ago, earned its first win over the Gamecocks in three all-time meetings.

UNLV came out strong in doubles play and won on all three courts to capture a 1-0 lead.

In singles the Rebels were boosted by top player Joel Kielbowicz winning his second straight over a ranked opponent in dominating fashion when he swept No. 115 Tom Eklund 6-0, 6-1.

On court three, freshman Elliot Wronski improved his singles record to 10-1 with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Yevgeny Supeko. Another Rebel freshman, Wesley Burrows, won his match at the fifth position, 6-1, 7-5 over Thomas Stoddard to move to 10- 4 overall and 7-0 in dual matches. UNLV's final point came on court six where Jonathan Hooper won his third straight, 6-4, 6-2, over Adam Adler.

"Considering South Carolina was ranked in the national top 10 just a month ago before battling some injuries, this was a very satisfying win today," UNLV head coach Owen Hambrook said. "We started out by turning in another solid doubles performance and then I was proud of how we stuck to our game against a very good Southeastern Conference team."

The Rebels will close out their 2006 non-conference schedule with a trip to play Southern California on March 24 beginning at 5:00 p.m.

UNLV MEN'S TENNIS RESULTS#62 UNLV 5, #52 SOUTH CAROLINA 2At Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas, NV
DOUBLES: (UNLV EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)1. Kielbowicz/David Campbell (UNLV) def.Cuellar/Eklund (USC) 8-52. Wronski/Hunter (UNLV) def.Rodrigues/Adler (USC) 8-43. Massaro/Burrows (UNLV) def.Supeko/Dima Babenko (USC) 8-3

SINGLES: (UNLV EARNS FOUR TEAM POINTS)1. Joel Kielbowicz (UNLV) def. #115 Tom Eklund (USC) 6-0, 6-12. #107 Jaime Cuellar (USC) def. Romain Massaro (UNLV) 6-1, 7-6 (6)3. Elliot Wronski (UNLV) def. Yevgeny Supeko (USC) 6-3, 6-34. Pedro Rodrigues (USC) def. Brett Hunter (UNLV) 6-1, 4-3 retired5. Wesley Burrows (UNLV) def. Thomas Stoddard (USC) 6-1, 7-56. Jonathan Hooper (UNLV) def. Adam Adler (USC) 6-4, 6-2