TEMPE, Ariz. (UNLVRebels.com) – Making its first road trip of the season, the UNLV men's tennis team forced Arizona State to come from behind and the Sun Devils eventually eked out a thrilling 4-3 win to hand the Rebels a heartbreaking first loss of 2020 Friday evening at the Whiteman Tennis Center.
 
UNLV, which was looking to post one of the biggest road wins in program history, fell to 10-1 while the Pac-12 Conference hosts improved to 4-5.
 
The Sun Devils began the afternoon by quickly winning on court three in doubles play, 6-1, before the Rebels managed 6-4 victories on both courts No. 2 and then No. 1 to earn the team point and a 1-0 lead.
 
Moving to singles, ASU forged ahead 2-1 with a pair of straight-set wins before UNLV freshman Anton Ornberg finished off Will Kirkman at the fifth position, 6-2, 7-6, to tie it up and improve to 14-3 overall.
 
Now playing under the lights, the Sun Devils took the next match and forced UNLV into the position of having to take both three-set matches at the top two spots in the lineup. Eric Samuelsson did his part, upsetting 121st-ranked Makey Rakotomalala at the second position, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to square the score at 3-3.
 
All eyes moved to court one where Alex Kobelt, a senior transfer who had not lost a dual match as a Rebel, won the first set over Andrea Bolla but eventually moved into a third-set tiebreaker and saw the Sun Devil finally take the team-clincher, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 (5).
 
REBEL OF THE MATCH: Samuelsson, a senior, teamed with Clayton Alenik for a key win at No. 2 doubles and then tied the team match by finishing off a ranked opponent in singles to improve to 8-1 in duals.
 
QUOTABLE: "Even though we came up just short, I am very proud of this team today. There were a lot of positives to take away and playing in this great atmosphere will only help us get better."
-UNLV Head Coach Owen Hambrook
 
NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV returns home and will host Loyola Marymount next Friday starting with doubles play at 2 p.m. Admission to all Rebel home matches is free of charge.
 
UNLV Men's Tennis Results
ASU 4, UNLV 3
Feb. 28, 2020, at Tempe, AZ
(Whiteman Tennis Center)

 Singles competition
1. Andrea Bolla (ASU) def. Alex Kobelt (UNLV) 6-7, 6-4, 7-6
2. Eric Samuelsson (UNLV) def. #121 Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
3. Christian Lerby (ASU) def. Jordan Sauer (UNLV) 6-2, 6-2
4. Tom LeBlanc (ASU) def. Tom Ciszewski (UNLV) 7-5, 6-3
5. Anton Ornberg (UNLV) def. Will Kirkman (ASU) 6-2, 7-6
6. George Stoupe (ASU) def. Clayton Alenik (UNLV) 6-4, 6-4

 Doubles competition
1. Alex Kobelt/Jordan Sauer (UNLV) def. Andrea Bolla/Will Kirkman (ASU) 6-4
2. Eric Samuelsson/Clayton Alenik (UNLV) def. Christian Lerby/George Stoupe (ASU) 6-4
3. Tom LeBlanc/Tim Ruehl (ASU) def. Jackson Atherton/Milos Dabic (UNLV) 6-1

Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,6,5,4,1)