March 15, 2007

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV men's tennis team won at the top and bottom of the singles lineup but could not get any other points en route to falling to 55th-ranked South Carolina 4-3 at a hot Fertitta Tennis Complex Thursday.

The Rebels fell to 4-9 while the Gamecocks improved to 10-6. The two teams have played each other in Las Vegas four straight seasons with USC now holding a 3-1 all-time lead in the series.

UNLV opened the day by winning the only two completed doubles matches to earn a 1-0 overall lead. Jonathan Hooper and Wesley Burrows won their match 8-5 at No. 2 while Slavko Bijelica and David Campbell combined for an 8-3 victory on court three.

With temperatures in the high 80s during singles play, the Rebels got straight-set wins at both No. 1 and No. 6. Elliot Wronski won his fourth straight match with a 7-6, 6-2 triumph of Pedro Rodrigues at the top spot while Bijelica downed Spencer Feldman 7-6, 6-3 on court six.

After USC took straight set wins at Nos. 2, 3 and 5, the match came down to the fourth position. Hooper won the first set but allowed Ivan Cressoni to rally for the individual and team victory, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1.

The Rebels take Friday off before hosting 69th-ranked Mississippi State on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.

UNLV MEN'S TENNIS RESULTS#55 SOUTH CAROLINA 4, UNLV 3At Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas
DOUBLES: (UNLV EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)1. Hunter/Wronski (UNLV) vs. Campos/Supeko (USC) DNF2. Burrows/Hooper (UNLV) def. Rodrigues/Cressoni (USC) 8-53. Campbell/Bijelica (UNLV) def. Thomas Stoddard/Joseph Veeder (USC) 8-3
SINGLES: (USC EARNS THREE TEAM POINTS)1. Elliot Wronski (UNLV) def. Pedro Rodrigues (USC) 7-6, 6-22. #123 Yevgeny Supeko (USC) def. Brett Hunter (UNLV) 6-0, 7-53. Pedro Campos (USC) def. David Campbell (UNLV) 6-0, 6-44. Ivan Cressoni (USC) def. Jonathan Hooper (UNLV) 5-7, 6-3, 6-15. David Wolff (USC) def. Wesley Burrows (UNLV) 7-6, 6-06. Slavko Bijelica (UNLV) def. Spencer Feldman (USC) 7-6, 6-3