Sept. 12, 2011
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV men's tennis will host players from three teams this weekend, Sept. 16-18, to kick off its fall tournament action as the program's 2011-12 schedule was released by the school Monday.
Coming to campus for the UNLV Invite are representatives from Portland, Northern Arizona and Fresno State-Pacific, along with the Rebels in an individual tournament format. Matches are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. each day Friday through Sunday. Admission to the Fertitta Tennis Complex is free of charge.
Overall, exactly half of the Rebels' upcoming 22 dual-match opponents this season were included in the final Campbell ITA College Tennis Rankings in May.
"We have a challenging fall schedule and it will be a good test to see where we are at this point of the year," said ninth-year head coach Owen Hambrook. "In the spring we have some great opportunities to go against potential top 40 teams, which will afford us a chance to move up the national rankings. The Mountain West is pretty even this year and our league's newcomer, Boise State, is always tough."
The fall season includes the annual USTA ITA Regional tournament on Oct. 19-23 at Las Vegas' Stacy Darling Tennis Center. The very next week, the Rebels will host the second annual Larry Easley Memorial Classic from Oct. 28-30 with players from Arkansas, Auburn, Fresno State, UC Irvine, Utah and New Mexico scheduled to compete.
The dual season begins on January 26 at UC Irvine, which leads up to the Rebels' appearance in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend tourney in Los Angeles. UNLV, which finished last season ranked 60th, is charged with the tough task of taking on three-time defending champion USC on the Trojans' home courts Jan. 28. The winner of that match will take on the winner of South Florida vs. UNC Wilmington the following day when the losers of the matches will also play.
The Rebels will then kick off a five-match homestand vs. non-conference opponents, including former Mountain West-rival Utah on Feb. 17.
After road matches at Fresno State (Feb. 26) and then a conference-opening tussle with Air Force (March 3), UNLV will enjoy a 10-match run of home dates starting with Ball State on March 8 and ending with Hawaii for Senior Day on April 10. UNLV will then wrap up league action by heading to San Diego State (April 14) and then making a trip to Boise State (April 20) for the first time as conference rivals with the Broncos.
The 2012 MW Men's and Women's Tennis Championships will be played April 26-29 in San Diego, while the NCAA Round of 16 and individual championships are scheduled to be played this season in Athens, Ga.
2011-12 UNLV MEN'S TENNIS SCHEDULEDATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME (PT)
Sept. 16-18 UNLV Invite Las Vegas All Day (Portland, NAU, Fresno-Pacific)Oct. 19-23 ITA Regional+ Las Vegas All DayOct. 28-30 Easley Memorial Classic Las Vegas All Day (Arkansas, Auburn, Fresno State, UC Irvine, Utah and New Mexico)Jan. 26 at UC Irvine Irvine, CA 12 pmJan. 28 at USC# Los Angeles 1 pmJan. 29 vs. USF or UNC Wilmington# Los Angeles TBAFeb. 3 New Mexico State Las Vegas 10 amFeb. 3 Loyola Marymount Las Vegas 2 pmFeb. 4 UC Riverside Las Vegas 10 amFeb. 17 Utah Las Vegas 2 pmFeb. 19 Santa Clara Las Vegas 10 amFeb. 26 at Fresno State Fresno, CA 12 pmMarch 3 at Air Force* Colo. Springs 10 amMarch 8 Ball State Las Vegas 2 pmMarch 9 Utah State Las Vegas 10 amMarch 10 Northern Arizona Las Vegas 10 amMarch 15 VCU Las Vegas 2 pmMarch 16 Oklahoma State Las Vegas 2 pmMarch 22 Denver Las Vegas 2 pmMarch 24 Rice Las Vegas 2 pmApril 6 TCU* Las Vegas 2 pmApril 8 New Mexico* Las Vegas 12 pmApril 10 Hawai'i Las Vegas 10 amApril 14 at San Diego State* San Diego TBAApril 20 at Boise State* Boise, ID TBAApril 26-29 MW Championships San Diego TBAMay 11-13 NCAA Regionals TBA TBAMay 18-22 NCAA Team Championships Athens, GA TBAMay 23-28 NCAA Indiv. Championships Athens, GA TBA
#ITA Kick-Off Weekend Tournament +At Stacy Darling Tennis Center, Las Vegas *Mountain West Match Home matches played at Fertitta Tennis Complex
