Feb. 18, 2007

LAS VEGAS - Elliot Wronski earned the biggest victory of his career but it was not enough as the 74th-ranked UNLV men's tennis team lost to No. 41 Fresno State, 5-2, at the Fertitta Tennis Complex on Sunday.

The Rebels fell to 2-5 overall while the Bulldogs improved to 3-3.

Fresno State opened the day by taking a highly competitive doubles session. UNLV's No. 3 duo of Wesley Burrows and Jonathan Hooper took their match, 8-5, but the Bulldogs claimed the other two to earn a 1-0 lead overall.

In singles play, Wronski, a sophomore from Cheltenham, England, stunned 26th-ranked Jakub Cech at the top position, 6-2, 6-3, to up his career record to 22-9.

Senior Brett Hunter outlasted Mirko Zapletal on court two, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, to post his team's other point.

"I was proud of our effort in doubles but we let a few opportunities pass us by, which cost us the point," UNLV head coach Owen Hambrook said. "In singles, Fresno State was just too good today. However, we will draw a lot of positives from this, including two big wins from Elliot and Brett over some tough opponents."

The Rebels next face UC Irvine on Feb. 24 beginning at 6 p.m. The neutral-site match will be played at Las Vegas' Darling Tennis Center.

UNLV MEN'S TENNIS RESULTS#41 FRESNO STATE 5, #74 UNLV 2At Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas, NV
DOUBLES: (FS EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)1. Cech/Zapletal (FS) def. Campbell/Slavko Bijelica (UNLV) 8-62. #44Veerepalli/Irie (FS) def. Hunter/Wronski (UNLV) 8-33. Burrows/Hooper (UNLV) def. Taylor Leiby/Siwy (FS) 8-5
SINGLES: (FS EARNS FOUR TEAM POINTS)1. Elliot Wronski (UNLV) def. #26 Jakub Cech (FS) 6-2, 6-32. Brett Hunter (UNLV) def. Mirko Zapletal (FS) 6-2, 4-6, 6-23. Rudolf Siwy (FS) def. David Campbell (UNLV) 6-3, 6-14. Tejesvi Veerepalli (FS) def. Jonathan Hooper (UNLV) 6-1, 6-25. Charles Irie (FS) def. Wesley Burrows (UNLV) 6-4, 6-46. Flavio Mollinedo (FS) def. Luca Barlocchi (UNLV) 6-3, 6-4