LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV men's tennis team rallied after dropping the doubles point to upend in-state rival UNR, 4-1, Friday night at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.
 
Playing under the lights, the Rebels won their fourth straight to improve to 13-4 overall, 2-1 in the Mountain West and 12-1 in Las Vegas this season while the Wolf Pack fell to 8-7 and 1-2 in the league.
 
After splitting the first two completed doubles matches, the visitors gained the early 1-0 lead by taking a 6-4 win on court three. In singles, however, the hosts raced to record wins on five of six courts. The team, which was without starter Olle Thestrup in singles, saw its top two players earn straight-set victories for a 2-1 lead before Richard Solberg nipped his opponent, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5, at No. 3 to put the Rebels just one point away from clinching. The bottom three matches were all dog fights but Las Vegas native Clayton Alenik stepped up to down Matvey Radionov on court five, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, to end it.
 
REBEL OF THE MATCH: Jordan Sauer teamed with Thestrup for their squad's only doubles win, 6-4 on court two, before he tied the match with the first singles final – a 6-4, 6-3 downing of Kostya Nesterenko – at the second spot.
 
NET NOTES: After losing his last match a week ago vs. Boise State, Alenik got back to his winning ways to improve his dual-match record as a sophomore to an eye-popping 12-1 … The match was part of the Silver State Series presented by IBEW and Nevada Donor Network. The three points up for grabs will not be awarded until the Mountain West Tournament later this month when the two teams could meet again.
 
QUOTABLE: "Reno outplayed us tonight in doubles but even without one of our top players in the lineup, the team went to work in singles and competed really well to get the victory."
-UNLV Head Coach Owen Hambrook
 
NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV will celebrate Senior Day this Sunday by hosting Fresno State in the final home match of the season. The team's two seniors – Solberg and Thestrup -- will be honored at on Court One at approximately 10:45 a.m. before doubles play starts at 11 a.m. Admission is free of charge.
 
Men's Tennis Match Results
UNLV 4, UNR 1
April 5, 2019, at Las Vegas, NV
(Fertitta Tennis Complex)
 
Singles competition
1. Eric Samuelsson (UNLV) def. Julien Evrard (UNR) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
2. Jordan Sauer (UNLV) def. Kostya Nesterenko (UNR) 6-4, 6-3
3. Richard Solberg (UNLV) def. Jeremy Merville (UNR) 6-2, 2-6, 7-5
4. Milos Dabic (UNLV) vs. Jonathan Aremon (UNR) 5-7, 6-3, 2-3, unfinished
5. Clayton Alenik (UNLV) def. Matvey Radionov (UNR) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
6. Tom Ciszewski (UNLV) vs. Daniel Dudockin (UNR) 7-5, 5-6, unfinished
 
 Doubles competition 
1. Julien Evrard/Kostya Nesterenko (UNR) def. Eric Samuelsson/Clayton Alenik (UNLV) 6-3
2. Jordan Sauer/Olle Thestrup (UNLV) def. Jonathan Aremon/Jeremy Merville (UNR) 6-4
3. Daniel Dudockin/Delmas N'tcha (UNR) def. Richard Solberg/Milos Dabic (UNLV) 6-4
 
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,1,3,5)