April 27, 2011
Box Score
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (UNLVRebels.com) -
April 27, 2011
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The 59th-ranked UNLV men's tennis team built a 3-0 lead in Wednesday's opening match of the 2011 Mountain West Conference Championships but then saw San Diego State storm back to earn a thrilling 4-3 upset win at the University Tennis Complex.
The Rebels' season is over with a final record of 14-11 while the Aztecs advance to Friday's semifinals to take on top-seeded BYU. UNLV, which came in as the fourth seed, just defeated fifth-seeded SDSU by the score of 5-2 over the weekend but it was a different story on this cool and windy day in a neutral setting.
The Rebels looked to be in good shape by rallying to take the doubles point for a 1-0 lead. After the Aztecs quickly won on court two, Rene Ruegamer and Bernard Schoeman downed Jose Sierra Short and Giovanni Vaglietti 8-4 at the third position and then Mehdi Bouras and Johannes Markel got past Tim Schulz van Endert and Javier Pulgar 9-7 to secure the point.
Moving to singles play, Alex Bull was first off the courts, sweeping Juan Florez on court five, 6-3, 6-4. Bouras, just a couple hours after being named MWC Player of the Year, lived up to the billing by defeating Vaglietti at the top of the lineup, 6-4, 6-4.
SDSU got on the board with a straight-set win at the third position and then gutted out all three three-setters. Eventually tied at 3-3, all eyes moved to court two where Pulgar was battling Rebel freshman Tamas Batyi. Pulgar finally ended the match by winning the final two games and posting a 6-4, 6-7 (1), 7-5 victory.
Bouras, who is ranked 71st in the nation in singles and 42nd in doubles, will now await possible individual bids to the NCAA Championships, which will be played next month in Palo Alto, Calif.
Men's Tennis Match ResultsMountain West Conference Championships - QuarterfinalsSAN DIEGO STATE 4, #59 UNLV 3April 27, 2011 at Fort Collins, CO(University Tennis Center)
Singles competition1. #71 Mehdi Bouras (UNLV) def. Giovanni Vaglietti (SDSU) 6-4, 6-42. Javier Pulgar (SDSU) def. Tamas Batyi (UNLV) 6-4, 6-7 (1), 7-53. Andre Feliz (SDSU) def. Rene Ruegamer (UNLV) 6-3, 6-14. Tim Schulz v Endert (SDSU) def. Johannes Markel (UNLV) 7-6, 4-6, 6-05. Alex Bull (UNLV) def. Juan Florez (SDSU) 6-3, 6-46. Jose Sierra Short (SDSU) def. Charlie Alvarado (UNLV) 3-6, 6-3, 6-0
Doubles competition1. Mehdi Bouras/Johannes Markel (UNLV) def. Tim Schulz v Endert/Javier Pulgar (SDSU) 9-72. Andre Feliz/Shiva Sangwan (SDSU) def. Alex Bull/Kasper Konyves (UNLV) 8-33. Rene Ruegamer/Bernard Schoeman (UNLV) def. Jose Sierra Short/Giovanni Vaglietti (SDSU) 8-4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,1,3,6,4,2)
