March 17, 2007
LAS VEGAS - The UNLV men's tennis team used its depth in singles play to rally past No. 69 Mississippi State 4-3 at the Fertitta Tennis Complex Saturday.
The Rebels improved to 5-9 while the Bulldogs fell to 3-9.
Enduring another day of record-high March temperatures, MSU began the morning by taking two of three doubles matches to grab a 1-0 overall lead. Winning for UNLV was the No. 2 duo of Jonathan Hooper and Wesley Burrows, 8-5.
Heading into singles without No. 2 player Brett Hunter because of injury, the Rebels got straight-set wins in the middle of their lineup: David Campbell won 6-3, 6-4 at No. 3 while Burrows swept his opponent 6-4, 6-2 at No. 4. With the visitors forging ahead 3-2 by taking straight-set victories of their own at the top of the lineup, all eyes were on the bottom two courts where the Rebels feature true freshmen.
First, Slavko Bijelica came back to defeat Ryan Farlow at No. 5, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 and then Luca Barlocchi held off Eric Lim at No. 6, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 to end it in dramatic fashion.
"This was a very tough match with the high temperatures and being without one of our best players in singles," UNLV head coach Owen Hambrook said. "But I am very proud of the way everyone stepped up and got the job done against a ranked Southeastern Conference opponent."
The Rebels will now face their third consecutive SEC team on Sunday when they host Arkansas beginning at 10 a.m.
UNLV MEN'S TENNIS RESULTSUNLV 4, #69 MISSISSIPPI STATE 3At Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas
DOUBLES: (MSU EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)1. Bjelica/Frayssinoux (MSU) def. Brett Hunter/Wronski (UNLV) 8-42. Burrows/Hooper (UNLV) def. Kuznetsov/Necajevs (MSU) 8-53. Benchetrit/Farlow (MSU) def. Campbell/Bijelica (UNLV) 8-5
SINGLES: (UNLV EARNS FOUR TEAM POINTS)1. #42 Ivan Bjelica (MSU) def. Elliot Wronski (UNLV) 6-0, 6-32. #91 Philippe Frayssinoux (MSU) def. Jonathan Hooper (UNLV) 6-2, 6-13. David Campbell (UNLV) def. Pjotrs Necajevs (MSU) 6-3, 6-44. Wesley Burrows (UNLV) def. Edouard Benchetrit (MSU) 6-4, 6-25. Slavko Bijelica (UNLV) def. Ryan Farlow (MSU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-16. Luca Barlocchi (UNLV) def. Eric Lim (MSU) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
