The UNLV men's program has not been in this position for over a decade but you won't hear anyone complaining over at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.
Head coach Owen Hambrook and his defending Mountain West Conference champion Rebels surely turned some heads in the West by winning the team's first league tournament crown since dominating the Big West back in the mid-1990s.
Now, in 2008, they have to deal with increased expectations from followers and spiked intensity from competitors. For UNLV, which hit rock bottom earlier in the decade, those are welcome challenges for a program continuing to work on reclaiming its past glory under Hambrook's leadership.
"Our goals remain the same," he says. "We want to go undefeated at home, win the conference tournament and make it into the NCAA tournament."
The Rebels surprised nearly everyone off campus by taking care of the latter two points a year ago and those who return are hungry for a repeat.
The starting lineup is slightly unsettled for a team that lost two seniors and another starter to transfer. That means Hambrook will have to replace half the lineup before the first ball is served. That also means UNLV will be dominated by youth this spring.
"We have three freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors and one senior this year," Hambrook says. "We're a pretty young team but I wouldn't call it a rebuilding year because we have a nice combination of experience and youth. Hopefully we can stay relatively free of injuries. It's a good group of guys who have a great attitude. We can't wait to get this season started."
THE LINEUP
All eyes will be on standout Elliot Wronski (20-13 in singles in 2006-07) as last year's ITA Player to Watch looks to continue his ascension to join the impressive group of No. 1 players that topped the Rebels' lineup sheet over the last 15 years. Voted all-conference in both singles and doubles, the big Brit logged multiple ranked wins during his first season at the top position, including a memorable straight-set upset of the nation's No. 3 player last March.
A strong candidate for Mountain West Conference Player of the Year honors, Wronski went to his first NCAA Singles Championship in 2007 and won his opening round match to finish ranked in the top 50. His young resume was impressive enough in the fall, in fact, to earn him an ITA ranking of 27.
Now a junior, Wronski's next step is to emerge as a veteran leader of a relatively young group that lists just one senior in the lineup.
"Elliot is a very good No. 1 and showed he can beat anyone in the country," says Hambrook. "He is a great all-court player, switching from offense to defense, whatever style is called for. He really has no weaknesses. He was a rock for us all year and just needs to stay mentally positive throughout every match. Going to the NCAAs was a good experience for him and now he's got two more cracks at it."
While Wronski looked to be a future All-American as soon as he hit campus, another junior for UNLV has taken an entirely different route to his lofty lineup spot. Californian Wesley Burrows (16-17) began at the sixth position as a freshman, inched up the lineup during his sophomore campaign, including turning in a 5-3 mark at No. 3, and now could play as high as No. 2 in 2008.
"Wes Burrows will be in the top three for us for sure. He's proved to be a tough guy to beat with a very good serve and unbelievable hands at the net. He will be a key to how well we do this year."
Another mover and server for the Rebels is sophomore Luca Barlocchi (17-10) out of Zurich. After a rough start, the "Swiss Wizard" turned his season around, clinching multiple team victories in the latter part of the season down at the six spot. His 13-7 mark in dual matches included winning 10 of his last 11 singles matchups. Now, Hambrook will find out quickly if that success translates to the top half of the lineup so soon.
"Luca Barlocchi is just a pleasure to have on the team. He shows up every day and gives 100 percent. He's tough mentally and is a very tough out. He'll play in our top three for sure. We brought him in with high expectations and after a slow start he really became comfortable being the guy that the team was counting on to win."
Somewhere in the second half of the lineup will be veteran David Campbell (11-16) and the team's only senior figures to be in line for his best season yet. A pair of American newcomers - Bryan Miller and Andrew Giuffrida - also figure to earn spots in the starting lineup while letterman Matthew Kunkel (0-4) and another local product, rookie Rony Yeghnazary, will add depth to both singles and doubles.
"David is looking to finish his UNLV career on a high note and we are hoping to get more wins out of him this spring," says Hambrook. "Bryan is a local product we're counting on to start for us as a freshman. Andrew, who joined us January, will play in the lower part of the lineup and will only get better and better as time goes on."
UNLV made great strides in doubles play last spring, winning the key point six times in nine total matches vs. MWC opponents. All-conference performer Wronski will begin the season paired with Burrows while Barlocchi and Campbell and then Miller and Kunkel look to be the other duos to begin the schedule.
"We had some success in the fall and I'm pretty confident in our doubles game," says Hambrook. "We were pretty solid all the way through last year and need to be again in 2008."
THE SCHEDULE
The UNLV men will prepare to defend their Mountain West Conference tournament championship by facing a solid diet of quality non-conference and league opponents.
In fact, no less than a dozen of the Rebels' 2008 dual-match opponents were part of January's ITA/FILA Rankings.
"Once again we will face a challenging schedule in non-conference play and the Mountain West, as usual, will be deep," says Hambrook. "This schedule offers us a chance to get wins over some ranked teams and then challenge once again for the league title."
The team season kicks off with Southern Miss coming to the Fertitta Tennis Complex on Feb. 1, which begins an eight-match homestand that is highlighted by a visit from No. 29 Texas Tech on Feb. 8.
UNLV's first road trip takes it to Fresno State on March 8. A pair of opponents from the Southeastern Conference come in next (Mississippi State and South Carolina) along with Ball State. An ensuing trip to the Bay Area sets up matches with San Francisco and then No. 39 Cal before league play kicks in.
The Rebels host No. 68 BYU on March 27, Air Force on March 28 and No. 62 TCU on March 29 in a match that will also serve as Senior Day.
After a final non-conference match vs. UC Irvine in early April, the regular-season ends with three neutral-site meetings in Provo, Utah, against No. 54 New Mexico, No. 67 Utah and No. 50 San Diego State.
The MWC Championship will be held this spring on the campus of TCU from April 24-26.
"TCU will be the team to beat in the conference, especially when you consider that they host the tournament," says Hambrook. "San Diego State, Utah and New Mexico will be tough as well. There are a lot of quality teams in this league."
