April 26, 2007
COLORADO SPRINGS - A year after being ousted from the Mountain West Conference Men's Tennis Championships by rival Utah, UNLV returned the favor on Thursday with a 4-0 quarterfinal victory over the Utes at the Air Force Academy.
The Rebels, who also lost a 4-3 nail-biter when the two teams faced each other on March 31, improved to 11-13 overall while Utah's season is over at 12-11.
Unlike last month's meeting, UNLV began the match by earning the doubles point. At the No. 2 position, Wesley Burrows and Jonathan Hooper combined for an 8-2 win over Jason Smits and Othman Zerouali-Ouariti. Then, at the top spot, the All-MWC duo of Elliot Wronski and Brett Hunter upset 52nd-ranked Miron Mann and Zach Ganger 8-5 to clinch the point. The final match, which UNLV was also leading, was then halted.
The Rebels came out roaring in singles play as well, winning the first set on five of six courts. First off was Hunter, a senior, who swept Smits on court four 6-3, 6-3. The team's lone All-MWC singles representative, sophomore standout Wronski, then built the lead to 3-0 by shocking 47th-ranked Ganger in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, to post his sixth victory over a ranked opponent this season.
The match ended when Burrows knocked off Wes Hancock 6-2, 7-6 at No. 3. The remaining matches were halted with Rebel players leading on two of them and tied on the other.
"We got a great effort across the board to start the match," said UNLV head coach Owen Hambrook. "Everyone came out with great energy and that carried through into singles as well. It felt good to get a win over Utah and I was proud of everyone today. Now we need to fire it up again tomorrow."
The Rebels will now face 68th-ranked and second-seeded TCU in a Friday's semifinal match scheduled for 1 p.m. PT. Live scoring will be available at www.themwc.com. The winner of that match heads to Saturday's championship with an automatic NCAA bid on the line.
During their regular season, UNLV dropped a heart-breaking 4-3 match to the Horned Frogs on April 14 but that contest was played indoors in Fort Worth, Texas.
UNLV MEN'S TENNIS RESULTSMOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPSUNLV 4, UTAH 0At AFA Outdoor Tennis Facility, Colorado Springs
DOUBLES: (UNLV EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)1. Wronski/Hunter (UNLV) def. #52 Mann/Ganger (UU) 8-52. Burrows/Jonathan Hooper (UNLV) def. Smits/Zerouali-Ouariti (UU) 8-23. Campbell/Bijelica (UNLV) vs. Hancock/Allin (UU) DNF
SINGLES: (UNLV EARNS THREE TEAM POINTS)1. #71 Elliot Wronski (UNLV) def. #47 Zach Ganger (UU) 6-3, 6-42. Slavko Bijelica (UNLV) vs. Miron Mann (UU) DNF3. Wesley Burrows (UNLV) def. Wes Hancock (UU) 6-2, 7-64. Brett Hunter (UNLV) def. Jason Smits (UU) 6-3, 6-35. David Campbell (UNLV) vs. Othman Zerouali-Ouariti (UU) DNF6. Luca Barlocchi (UNLV) vs. Timmy Allin (UU) DNF
