April 24, 2008
FORT WORTH, Texas - The fourth-seeded UNLV men's tennis team wasted two crucial match points and ultimately fell to fifth-seed BYU 4-2 in Thursday's quarterfinal round at the Mountain West Conference Championships being played at the Friedman Tennis Center.
The 74th-ranked Rebels, who won this event last season to earn a trip to the NCAA championships, this time ended their season with a 10-12 overall record. The Cougars, who had lost three straight to UNLV, including last year's title match, improved to 16-11.
Starting the afternoon with doubles action, UNLV got a win at the top spot when Elliot Wronski and David Campbell emerged 8-2. BYU, however, won the other two matches to earn a 1-0 lead.
Moving to singles, the Cougars built a 3-0 lead with wins at No. 5 and 2 positions before the Rebels rallied.
Wronski, ranked 87th nationally, got the Rebels on the board with a 6-1, 6-7, 6-1 win over Jonathan Sanchez at the top position. Campbell, the team's only senior, won what would turn out to be his final collegiate match, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 over Evan Urbina at No. 4 to pull the Rebels to within one.
While Luca Barlocchi looked headed to victory at the second position, freshman Bryan Miller enjoyed double-match point on court six. A.J. Young, however, would not give in and came back to win the final three games and clinch the match for the Cougars with the 6-2, 6-7, 7-5 final.
"After losing the doubles point, I was very proud of how most of the guys fought back today," said UNLV head coach Owen Hambrook. "It's a very disappointing way to lose after having two match points on court six but Bryan played well overall. On the plus side, it was great to see Dave Campbell close his college career with a win. With us only losing the one senior, we're already looking forward to coming back next season."
UNLV MEN'S TENNIS RESULTS2008 MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPSBYU 4, No. 74 UNLV 2At Friedman Tennis Center, Fort Worth
DOUBLES - (BYU EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)1. Wronski/Campbell (UNLV) def. Sanchez/Young (BYU) 8-22. Hwang/Shurbert (BYU) def. Barlocchi/Burrows (UNLV) 8-33. Mears/Urbina (BYU) def. Miller/Yeghnazary (UNLV) 8-4Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3*
SINGLES - (BYU EARNS THREE TEAM POINTS)1. No. 87 Elliot Wronski (UNLV) def. Jonathan Sanchez (BYU) 6-1, 6-7, 6-12. Thomas Shubert (BYU) def. Wesley Burrows (UNLV) 6-1, 7-63. Luca Barlocchi (UNLV) vs. Cassidy Mears (BYU) 6-7, 6-4, 3-2 (DNF)4. David Campbell (UNLV) def. Evan Urbina (BYU) 7-5, 1-6, 6-45. Daniel Hwang (BYU) def. Rony Yeghnazary (UNLV) 6-1, 6-16. A.J. Young (BYU) def. Bryan Miller (UNLV) 6-2, 6-7, 7-5Order of Finish: 5, 2, 1, 4, 6**Clinching Point
