Oct. 5, 2009

TULSA, Okla. - Both UNLV players on hand won their opening singles match Monday as part of the qualifying draw for the D'Novo ITA Men's All-American Tennis Championships at the Case Tennis Center.

Senior Luca Barlocchi made quick work of LSU's Sebastian Carlsson 6-4, 6-3 to advance to Tuesday's second round. Sophomore Mehdi Bouras, who lost during pre-qualifying on Sunday but then later received the "Lucky Loser" spot in the next round, made the most of his new life, upsetting 113th-ranked Julien Bley of Baylor 6-4, 6-2.

"I'm really proud of both Luca and Mehdi," said UNLV assistant coach Beck Roghaar, who is traveling with the Rebel contingent. "They showed a lot of focus and commitment after a lot of build up to this first round. Winning the way they did in windy and cool conditions was impressive."

Both Rebels will play one singles match tomorrow and also team up to play up to two doubles matches. The preliminary tournaments feed into the 64-player, 32-doubles team main draws that kick off Thursday.

Live scores and video from the tournament are available online at the University of Tulsa's official athletics site, www.tulsahurricane.com.