Sept. 28, 2012
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV men's tennis will send a six-man contingent to the ITA All-American Championships, which start Saturday, to kick off its fall tournament action as the program's 2012-13 schedule was released by the school.
The Rebels will be part of the pre-qualifying for the event, which is being held Sept. 29-30 at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla. Qualifying runs from Oct. 1-3 and the main draw of the elite event is scheduled to run from Oct. 4-7.
After the All-American, UNLV will take part in the annual ITA/USTA Mountain Regional staged at Las Vegas' own Darling Tennis Center from Oct. 17-21.
The fall tournament slate will be complete after the Rebels host the third annual Larry Easley Memorial Classic from Nov. 2-4, featuring players from Arkansas, Auburn, Fresno Pacific, Boise State, NAU and SMU along with UNLV.
The dual season begins on January 25 by hosting Utah State, which will be the first of five straight home matches. The first road trip will take UNLV to play former conference rivals BYU on Feb. 15 and Utah the following day. The Rebels head to Seattle the very next weekend to make a visit to Washington on Feb. 22 and take on Oregon the next day for a neutral-site matchup.
A Feb. 28 meeting with Oklahoma State will be played in San Diego, the same place the Rebels will take part for the first time in the storied Pacific Coast Doubles tournament, a USTA event that is celebrating its 123rd season in 2013.
An eight-match homestand follows, including a match on March 8 vs. Air Force that will not count toward the Mountain West standings.
Conference play kicks off with UNLV facing Nevada, Reno as a league foe for the first time since the mid-1990s with a March 28 date. After closing its non-conference schedule vs. Cal Poly on March 30, the Rebels play five straight league opponents: hosting San Diego State on March 31, playing at New Mexico (April 5) and Air Force (April 7) in the match vs. the Falcons that will count in the standings. UNLV hosts Boise State on April 12 and will honor its trio of seniors in their final home appearance on April 20 when Fresno State comes to town.
The 2013 MW Men's and Women's Tennis Championships will be played April 25-28 in Colorado Springs, while the NCAA Round of 16 and individual championships are scheduled to be played this season in Champaign, Ill.
"It's a challenging schedule and we have two really tough road trips out of conference in Washington at Utah before a league race that looks to be wide open," said ninth-year head coach Owen Hambrook. "We feel good about the Mountain West tournament taking place in Colorado Springs. It's not an easy place to play but we've always had success there and we get to play at Air Force earlier in the month to help everyone get used to the altitude conditions."
2012-13 UNLV MEN'S TENNIS SCHEDULEDATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME (PT)Sept. 29-Oct. 7 ITA All-American Tulsa, OK All DayOct. 17-21 ITA Regional+ Las Vegas All DayNov. 2-4 Larry Easley Memorial Classic Las Vegas All Day(Arkansas, Auburn, Fresno Pacific, Boise State, NAU, SMU)Jan. 25 UTAH STATE Las Vegas 12 pmJan. 27 NAU Las Vegas 12 pmFeb. 1 SOUTHERN MISS Las Vegas 10 amFeb. 2 NEW MEXICO STATE Las Vegas 10 amFeb. 3 UC RIVERSIDE Las Vegas 10 amFeb. 15 at BYU Provo, UT TBAFeb. 16 at Utah Salt Lake City TBAFeb. 22 at Washington Seattle TBAFeb. 23 vs. Oregon Seattle TBAFeb. 28 vs. Oklahoma State San Diego TBAFeb. 28-March 3 Pacific Coast Doubles San Diego All DayMarch 7 BALL STATE Las Vegas 2 pmMarch 8 AIR FORCE Las Vegas 2 pmMarch 9 UC IRVINE Las Vegas 2 pmMarch 25 SOUTHERN UTAH Las Vegas 10 am IDAHO STATE Las Vegas 2 pmMarch 28 NEVADA, RENO* Las Vegas 10 amMarch 30 CAL POLY Las Vegas 11 amMarch 31 SAN DIEGO STATE* Las Vegas 11 amApril 5 at New Mexico* Albuquerque 12 pmApril 7 at Air Force* Colo. Springs TBAApril 12 BOISE STATE* Las Vegas 12 pmApril 20 FRESNO STATE* Las Vegas 12 pmApril 25-28 MW Championships Colo. Springs TBAMay 11-13 NCAA Regionals TBA TBAMay 18-22 NCAA Team Championships Champaign, IL TBAMay 23-28 NCAA Individual Championships Champaign, IL TBA
+At Darling Tennis Center, Las Vegas*Mountain West Match
