Box Score

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's tennis team shook off Saturday's home loss to rally past UC Irvine, 4-3, on another unseasonably warm February Sunday at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.

The Rebels improved to 4-3 overall while the Anteaters fell to 4-7. UCI took a 1-0 lead after taking the doubles point with identical 6-3 wins on courts 2-3.

In singles, Ruben Alberts made quick work of Jonathan Hammel at the fifth position, 6-0, 6-1, to tie the match. Jakob Amilon then finished off Shuhei Shibahara, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 3 to give UNLV a 2-1 lead. The visitors took the next two completed matches to forge a 3-2 advantage before Denys Pume tied it again with a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Nico Mertens at No. 2.

The match would ultimately come down to the only court that went the full three sets and senior Ace Matias rallied to down Sebastian Heim 5-7, 7-2, 6-0 at the top of the lineup to give his team the victory.

"It was great to battle back after yesterday's disappointing loss to Boise State," UNLV head coach Owen Hambrook said. "I'm very proud of how the team competed, especially Ace in taking the deciding match."

The Rebels are now off until taking on Oklahoma State in San Diego on March 5.

Men's Tennis Match ResultsUNLV 4, UC IRVINE 3Feb. 15, 2015, at Las Vegas(Fertitta Tennis Complex)
Singles competition 1. Ace Matias (UNLV) def. Sebastian Heim (UCI) 5-7, 6-2, 6-02. Denys Pume (UNLV) def. Nico Mertens (UCI) 6-3, 7-63. Jakob Amilon (UNLV) def. Shuhei Shibahara (UCI) 6-3, 6-14. Tyler Pham (UCI) def. Alexandr Cozbinov (UNLV) 6-2, 6-45. Ruben Alberts (UNLV) def. Jonathan Hammel (UCI) 6-0, 6-16. Rafael Davidian (UCI) def. Artur Culicovschi (UNLV) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition 1. Jakob Amilon/Denys Pume (UNLV) vs. Jonathan Hammel/Tyler Pham (UCI) 6-5, unfinished2. Jonathan Poon/Justin Agbayani (UCI) def. Ace Matias/Ruben Alberts (UNLV) 6-33. Nico Mertens/Sebastian Heim (UCI) def. Artur Culicovschi/Ozzy Abraham (UNLV) 6-3Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (5,3,6,4,2,1)