April 1, 2006

LAS VEGAS - The 61st-ranked UNLV men's tennis team stayed perfect at home this season with a 4-3 upset of No. 54 Utah at the Fertitta Tennis Complex on an April Fool's Saturday.

The Rebels improved to 13-4 overall, 2-0 in the Mountain West Conference and 9-0 at home while the Utes fell to 12-7 and 0-2 in the league.

UNLV fell behind early as Utah took two of three doubles matches to earn the team point. The Rebels' only win came at the third position where Romain Massaro and Wesley Burrows prevailed 8-4. It would mark the first time all season that UNLV won a match in which it lost the doubles point.

In singles play the hosts took the only three-setter to help rally to victory. At the top spot, Joel Kielbowicz downed Tomasz Grzyb 6-2, 6-3. Freshman Elliot Wronski improved his record to 13-1 with a quick 6-3, 6-1 victory over Nick Coutts at No. 3. Jonathan Hooper took a first-set tiebreaker en route to a 7-6, 6-3 win over Jason Yap at No. 5. Brett Hunter finally clinched it on court four with a come-from-behind 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Wes Hancock.

"I was proud of the guys fighting hard and coming back after losing the doubles point to a tough Mountain West rival," UNLV head coach Owen Hambrook said. "Now we have to rest up because we'll need to give our best performance tomorrow."

The Rebels close out their home schedule with a showdown with San Diego State on Sunday beginning at noon. UNLV and the Aztecs are tied for first place in the MWC with identical 2-0 marks. It will also mark the final home match for Rebel seniors Kielbowicz and Massaro.

UNLV MEN'S TENNIS RESULTS#61 UNLV 4, #54 UTAH 3At Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas, NV
DOUBLES: (UTAH EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)1. Ganger/Coutts (UU) def.Kielbowicz/David Campbell (UNLV) 8-52. Yap/Grzyb (UU) def.Wronski/Hunter (UNLV) 8-33. Massaro/Burrows (UNLV) def.Dan Mascall/Scott (UU) 8-4
SINGLES: (UNLV EARNS FOUR TEAM POINTS)1. Joel Kielbowicz (UNLV) def. Tomasz Grzyb (UU) 6-2, 6-32. Zach Ganger (UU) def. Romain Massaro (UNLV) 6-1, 6-23. Elliot Wronski (UNLV) def. Nick Coutts (UU) 6-3, 6-14. Brett Hunter (UNLV) def. Wes Hancock (UU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-25. Jonathan Hooper (UNLV) def. Jason Yap (UU) 7-6, 6-36. Ryan Scott (UU) def. Wesley Burrows (UNLV) 6-3, 6-3