3/21/2020 5:01:00 PM | Men's Tennis
With 2020 NCAA spring competition cut short, the UNLV men's tennis team will have to be content with having the best start to a season in school history along with the program's record for best winning percentage.
On paper, the Rebels figured to be good after adding Ohio State transfer Alex Kobelt to the top of a lineup that included a bevy of tested talent up and down the score sheet. And during the non-conference portion of the schedule, UNLV may have exceeded expectations, becoming the first men's squad at the school to start out 10-0. In fact, the one and only dual defeat came by the slimmest of margins in a 4-3 loss at Arizona State in Tempe that came down to the final point.
"We were on track to have one of the best seasons in UNLV men's tennis history," said 17th-year head coach Owen Hambrook. "To start out 13-1 showed that we were an incredibly deep and talented team. The only loss came in a third-set tiebreaker on the road so I would say we were one of the favorites to win the Mountain West regular-season and tournament championship and felt good about making a run at the NCAAs."
Kobelt lived up to the hype after transferring in from the Big Ten, finishing with a record of 14-5, including 7-2 at the No. 1 spot in dual matches. In addition, he and doubles partner Jordan Sauer led the way with a 12-5 record. Finally healthy, fellow-senior Eric Samuelsson was turning in a career year, rolling to a 10-1 mark at the No. 2 position. Newcomer Anton Ornberg provided instant success, even putting his name in the Rebel record book with a winning percentage of .850 ranking fifth in school history at 17-3 and a leading candidate for MW Freshman of the Year.
"We had a lot of guys having breakout seasons in 2020," said Hambrook. "Alex, Eric, Anton, even Clayton (Alenik) and Jordan were having great years. It's a credit to the team chemistry and hard work the guys put in on and off the court with the help of the support staff – and we were just getting started. However, we're looking forward to picking up where we left off next season."
