Feb. 19, 2010

IRVINE, Calif. - For the third straight outing the UNLV men's tennis team lost the doubles point and couldn't do better than a split in singles, meaning another 4-3 defeat, this time on the road against 66th-ranked UC Irvine.

The Rebels fell to 5-4 while the Anteaters improved to 6-2 on the year.

UCI began the afternoon by winning two of three doubles matches to earn a 1-0 lead. UNLV's lone victory came on court three where the freshman duo of Bernard Schoeman and Johannes Markel prevailed 8-4.

In singles play, UNLV got straight-set victories on three courts to eventually tie the match at 3-3. Super sophomore Mehdi Bouras, ranked 108th, improved to 20-7 overall and 8-1 in dual matches this season at the top position with a 6-4, 7-5 triumph over Sam Gould. Also scoring for the visitors was Markel, 6-4, 6-1 over Shimpei Suzuki at No. 3; and Attila Toth, 6-1, 6-2 over Zac Tsai on court four.

The team match came down to the No. 2 position where senior Luca Barlocchi won the first set vs. Fabian Matthews. However, the `Eater sophomore rallied for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 clinching victory.

"We came back and fought hard after losing the doubles point but it was a disappointing result," UNLV head coach Owen Hambrook said. "Luca has come up so big for us in that situation over his career and I know he'll win some more matches under those circumstances before he's done."

Next up, UNLV plays at San Diego on Sunday beginning at noon.

Men's Tennis Match ResultsUNLV vs UC IrvineFeb. 19, 2010, at Irvine, CA
#66 UC Irvine 4, UNLV 3
Singles competition1. #108 Mehdi Bouras (UNLV) def. Sam Gould (UCI) 6-4, 7-52. Fabian Matthews (UCI) def. Luca Barlocchi (UNLV) 2-6, 6-2, 6-43. Johannes Markel (UNLV) def. Shimpei Suzuki (UCI) 6-4, 6-14. Attila Toth (UNLV) def. Zac Tsai (UCI) 6-1, 6-25. Khunpol Issara (UCI) def. Kasper Konyves (UNLV) 6-2, 6-36. Steven Henderson (UCI) def. Bernard Schoeman (UNLV) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition1. Issara/Gould (UCI) def. Bouras/Barlocchi (UNLV) 8-52. Tsai/Henderson (UCI) def. Toth/Matthew Kunkel (UNLV) 8-33. Schoeman/Markel (UNLV) def. Nick Northcott/Matthews (UCI) 8-4