March 12, 2007

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV men's tennis team fell to 12th-ranked Wake Forest 6-1 at the Fertitta Tennis Complex to open spring break on Monday. It was not all bad news, however, as rising sophomore standout Elliot Wronski posted the biggest singles victory in years for the hosts.

The Rebels fell to 3-8 overall while the Demon Deacons improved to 11-1 this spring.

Wake opened the day by eking out the doubles point. The UNLV duo of David Campbell and Slavko Bijelica outlasted their opponents on court three but the Rebels lost the other two matches by the identical score of 8-5.

In singles play, Wronski stunned the nation's third-ranked player, Todd Paul, in straight sets 6-1, 7-5. Paul, who was ranked No. 1 a week ago today, had not lost a set in rolling through his first 10 dual matches this season and overall has 15 ranked wins to his credit this season.

With the upset, Wronski improved his singles record to 10-6 overall and 7-3 in duals with his second-consecutive win over a ranked opponent.

Rebel players pushed the visitors on the bottom two courts before going down in three sets. Wesley Burrows fell 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 to Steve Forman at No. 5 and Slavko Bijelica lost in a super-tiebreaker on court six to Jason Morgenstern , 5-7, 7-6, 1-0 (10-8).

"I feel it was a good effort from our team against a powerful Wake Forest program," UNLV head coach Owen Hambrook said. "The match was obviously much closer than the final score indicated and that was a great win for Elliot against an elite player in this sport. Now we have to get ready for more big matches this week."

The Rebels next take on Ball State on Wednesday beginning at 11 a.m.

UNLV MEN'S TENNIS RESULTS#12 WAKE FOREST 6, UNLV 1At Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas
DOUBLES: (WF EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)1. #31 Paul/Adamski (WF) def. Hunter/Wronski (UNLV) 8-52. Parr/Charles Sartor (WF) def. Burrows/Hooper (UNLV) 8-53. Campbell/Bijelica (UNLV) def. Andrew Hamar/Andrew Brasseaux (WF) 8-7
SINGLES: (WF EARNS FIVE TEAM POINTS)1. Elliot Wronski (UNLV) def. #3 Todd Paul (WF) 6-1, 7-52. #70 Cory Parr (WF) def. Brett Hunter (UNLV) 6-2, 6-13. Mariusz Adamski (WF) def. David Campbell (UNLV) 7-5, 6-14. Andrew Hamar (WF) def. Jonathan Hooper (UNLV) 6-1, 7-65. Steven Forman (WF) def. Wesley Burrows (UNLV) 2-6, 6-2, 6-46. Jason Morgenstern (WF) def. Slavko Bijelica (UNLV) 5-7, 7-6, 1-0 (10-8)