Sept. 4, 2008

LAS VEGAS - UNLV men's tennis will look to return to the national rankings while also challenging for its second Mountain West Conference championship in the last three years by facing a solid set of quality non-conference and league opponents, as the program's schedule was released Thursday.

No less than 10 of the Rebels' 23 dual-match opponents in 2009 were included in the final ITA/FILA Rankings in May.

"We have a challenging schedule once again, especially when you consider that we don't have any conference matches at home this spring," UNLV fifth-year head coach Owen Hambrook said. "We're looking forward to competing with the team we have this season."

The fall slate includes select members of the team taking part in the annual ITA Regional championship tournament on Oct. 15-19 at Las Vegas' Stacy Darling Tennis Center. UNLV also will host an individual tournament that starts on Halloween and is scheduled to feature players from programs such as Tennessee, Arkansas and Fresno State.

The team's dual-match season kicks off with Weber State and Missouri-Kansas City coming to the Fertitta Tennis Complex on Jan. 24. Those matches start a 15-match homestand that will be highlighted by a visit from 2006 NCAA Champion Pepperdine, who finished ranked 12th in the spring, on March 5. After its final home match of the season on March 12 vs. Ball State, UNLV will make its first road trip of 2009 by playing two neutral-site events in San Diego vs. Texas Tech and Minnesota.

Conference play begins on March 27 with three matches staged in Colorado Springs. A trip to Salt Lake City on April 2-4 will pit the Rebels vs. the other three MWC teams. The annual league tournament is set for April 23-25 in Albuquerque, N.M.

The NCAA regionals are scheduled for May 8-9 at campus sites to be determined while the round of 16 and individual national tournaments will take place at Texas A&M in College Station from May 14-25.

2008-09 UNLV MEN'S TENNIS SCHEDULE
DATE        OPPONENT          SITE             TIME (PT)Oct. 2-4    REBEL FALL INVITE    Las Vegas        All DayOct. 15-19  at ITA Regional       Las Vegas#       All DayO. 31-N. 2  REBEL CLASSIC     Las Vegas        All Day        UNLV, Tennessee, Arkansas, Arizona, Fresno State. New MexicoJan. 24     WEBER STATE          Las Vegas    10 am            MISSOURI-KC          Las Vegas        2 pmJan. 30     SAN FRANCISCO        Las Vegas        10 amFeb. 1      NEBRASKA             Las Vegas        10 amFeb. 6      CAL POLY             Las Vegas        10 amFeb. 7      NEW MEXICO STATE     Las Vegas        10 amFeb. 8      SOUTHERN MISS        Las Vegas        10 amFeb. 13     UC IRVINE            Las Vegas        10 amFeb. 21     UC RIVERSIDE         Las Vegas        10 am            UTAH STATE           Las Vegas        2 pmFeb. 26     NORTHERN ARIZONA     Las Vegas        2 pmFeb. 28     OKLAHOMA             Las Vegas        10 amMarch 5     PEPPERDINE           Las Vegas        2 pmMarch 7     FRESNO STATE         Las Vegas        2 pmMarch 12    BALL STATE           Las Vegas        2 pmMarch 14    vs. Texas Teach      San Diego        TBAMarch 16    vs. Minnesota        San Diego        TBAMarch 27    vs. San Diego State* Colorado Springs TBAMarch 28    at Air Force*        Colorado Springs TBAMarch 29    vs. New Mexico*      Colorado Springs TBAApril 2     at Utah*             Salt Lake City   TBAApril 3     vs. TCU*             Salt Lake City   TBAApril 4     vs. BYU*             Salt Lake City   TBAApril 23-25 MWC Championship     Albuquerque, NM  TBAMay 8-9     NCAA Regional        TBD              TBDMay 14-17   NCAA Round of 16     College Station, TX TBAMay 18-25   NCAA Indiv. Tour.    College Station, TX All Day
*Mountain West Conference MatchHome matches played at Fertitta Tennis Complex#Stacy Darling Tennis Center, Las Vegas