Summer Series: Men's Tennis' Top 10 Moments Of The Decade

UNLV Athletics' Top 10 Moments of the Decade summer series rolls on...

Before the 2020-21 school year arrives, UNLV Athletics is taking a look back at each of its teams' Top 10 Moments from the just-completed decade. The (non-scientific) lists will be unveiled through the middle of August.

Below is the 10th in the series: Men's Tennis. Enjoy!

No. 10: REGIONAL RUCKUS
Amilon Wins ITA Mountain Singles Title (Oct. 23, 2016)
UNLV senior star Jakob Amilon did not lose a set during the week while steamrolling to the singles crown at the 2016 ITA Mountain Region Men's Tennis Championships staged at the Darling Tennis Center. Seeded third and ranked 124th nationally, the native of Stockholm, Sweden, won the final in straight sets over ninth-seeded Kai Wehnelt of Utah State, 6-4, 6-3. Amilon not only earned the regional championship but also a ticket that comes with it to the 2016 USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, which will take place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, located in Flushing, New York. Amilon joined Henner Nehles (2004) as the only UNLV men's tennis players to win an ITA regional singles title.

No. 9: ANOTHER TROPHY
Cozbinov Closes Career with MW MVP Nod (April 25, 2018)
UNLV senior Alexandr Cozbinov was named the 2018 Mountain West Men's Tennis Player of the Year as the league announced its annual awards during a banquet held in San Diego. The Chișinău, Moldova, product became the sixth UNLV men's player to win a league MVP award but the second in as many years. He joined the previous year's winner, Jakob Amilon; the late Mehdi Bouras (2011); and Henner Nehles (2005) as winners of the MW honor as well as three-time winner Roger Pettersson (1994-96 in the Big West Conference) and two-time honoree Scott Warner (1986-87 in the PCAA). Cozbinov, who was ranked No. 96 in the nation in singles at the time, finished 5-2 vs. conference foes.

Alexandr Cozbino

No. 8: A PERFECT 10!
UNLV Posts First 10-0 Start in History (Feb. 16, 2020)
The UNLV men's tennis team improved to 10-0 for first time by sweeping a Sunday doubleheader at the Fertitta Tennis Complex. After getting by Weber State in the morning, the Rebels blanked Seattle 7-0 in the afternoon match in what was the first meeting between the two programs. The historic UNLV winning streak was snapped 12 days later with thrilling, heart-breaking 4-3 loss at Arizona State in Tempe but the team would win the three outings after that to finish at 13-1 before the pandemic shuttered the promising season prematurely.

Team GIF

No. 7: BOURAS TIMES TWO
Senior Becomes Only Third Rebel to Earn NCAA Singles & Doubles Bids (May 4, 2011)
UNLV senior standout Mehdi Bouras earned an automatic bid into the NCAA singles field as well as the doubles draw along with partner Bernard Schoeman, pulling off a rare doubling up on national bids. The pair would be heading to compete at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, California.As the league's highest ranked singles player, Bouras earned the automatic bid from the Mountain West Conference while he and Schoeman took the league's doubles bid as well. Bouras became the first Rebel men's player to earn a spot in the NCAA singles field since Elliot Wronski in 2007 and he and Schoeman comprised the first doubles tandem to reach the national tournament since Nenad Zivkovic and Gregor Skorin went in 1999.

No. 6: REBELS GO HOG WILD (AGAIN!)
Rebels Sweep Home & Home Series from Arkansas (Feb. 27, 2011)
The UNLV men's tennis team reached double figures in wins in 2011 with a 4-2 victory over No. 58 Arkansas at the Fertitta Tennis Complex. The Rebels completed a clean sweep of the SEC opponent as they also won 5-2 over the Razorbacks in Fayetteville back on Jan. 28 as part of a rare home-and-home non-conference scheduling event. The Rebels got out to a strong start in doubles, winning both completed matches for a 1-0 lead. Moving to singles play, the Hogs quickly tied it up with a win at No. 4 before Mehdi Bouras, ranked 76th, continued his torrid play by sweeping Hogan 6-2, 6-4 at the top of the lineup. Arkansas tied it again with a straight-set win at No. 2 while the final three matches turned into grinders. Rene Ruegamer got by Lehmann at No. 3 by the score of 6-0, 4-6, 7-5, and then fellow-sophomore Bull clinched it for the home team with a 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 victory over Ward on court five. A month previous, UNLV traveled into SEC country and came out with an impressive 5-2 victory over Arkansas during an evening match before a hostile crowd at the Dills Indoor Tennis Stadium.

Rene Ruegamer. Mens tennis player portraits, team portrait and action on November 10, 2011. / UNLV Photo Services / R. Marsh Starks Client: Mark Wallington / Athletics Media Relation

Rene Ruegamer. Mens tennis player portraits, team portrait and action on November 10, 2011. / UNLV Photo Services / R. Marsh Starks Client: Mark Wallington / Athletics Media Relation

No. 5: SWEET FOR THE SWEDE
Amilon Adds League MVP to Trophy Case (April 27, 2017)
UNLV senior Jakob Amilon became the fifth man in Rebel history to be named a men's tennis conference player of the year as the Mountain West announced its annual awards at a banquet. The native of Stockholm, Sweden, held a 13-6 dual-match record competing at the No. 1 position. In Mountain West play, he went a dominating 6-1 at the top spot and teamed with sophomore Evaldo Neto to register a 16-5 doubles record in dual matches. The tandem played all 21 contests in the No. 1 position and in league matches posted an unblemished 6-0 mark. He was the first UNLV player to earn the MW honor since the late Mehdi Bouras in 2011. Amilon was also named to the All-Mountain West Men's Tennis Team in both singles and doubles for the second consecutive season.

Jakob Amilo

No. 4: MEHDI, MEHDI, MEHDI
Bouras Adds to Amazing Load of Honors (April 27, 2011)
UNLV senior Mehdi Bouras was named the 2011 Mountain West Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Year as the league announced its annual awards. The Paris, France, product was only the fourth UNLV men's player to ever win a league MVP award and the first since 2005. He joined Henner Nehles (MWC in 2005), three-time winner Roger Pettersson (1994-96 Big West Conference) and two-time honoree Scott Warner (1986-87 PCAA). Bouras earned career-high rankings in both singles and doubles en route to a 21-11 singles record that included a 17-5 mark in dual matches at the top of the lineup. He went 5-1 in singles vs. league foes this season. "This is a well-deserved honor for Mehdi," said UNLV head coach Owen Hambrook. "He has had a great year and with all of the quality players in this league, to be named the player of the year is a statement about what an outstanding young man and competitor he is. Mehdi is a great Rebel and this is a wonderful way for him to close out his career here."

Mehdi Boura

Senior UNLV tennis star Mehdi Bouras played his final match at Fertitta Tennis Complex

No. 3: DOWN GOES NO. 1
Senior Star Records Upset Win Over Nation's Best (Feb. 10, 2018)
Alexandr Cozbinov upset the No. 1 ranked player in college tennis as part of an impressive effort by the UNLV men's tennis team in a 5-2 loss at seventh-ranked UCLA. Playing at the LA Tennis Center, the Rebels fell to 4-3 while the Bruins improved to 7-1. UNLV surprised the Pac-12 Conference powerhouse by earning the doubles point for a 1-0 lead. The teams split matches at the top and bottom of the lineup but the Rebel duo of Eric Samuelsson and Clayton Alenik gutted out a tiebreaker to down Ben Goldberg and Austin Rapp, 7-6 (7-4), on court two to give the visitors the early advantage. Moving to singles play, UNLV was competitive on nearly every court against a lineup that featured three ranked players. Cozbinov, a senior who was currently unranked, jumped on No. 1 Martin Redlicki to take the first set, and, after dropping the second, finished the Bruins' star off for the monumental upset, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Alexandr Cozbinov

No. 2: STORMY SUCCESS
Moved Indoors, UNLV Guts Out Win Over Bulldogs (April 30, 2016)
UNLV men's tennis defeated Fresno State, 4-2, to advance to the title match of the 2016 Mountain West Men's Tennis Championship. The Rebels improved their record to 14-9 by knocking off a hot Bulldog squad that upset the event's No. 1 seed Utah State in the quarterfinals. This memorable match was played indoors on six courts inside the state-of-the-art LIFETIME Athletic club in Henderson because of thunderstorms in the desert that hit during the first semifinal played between Boise State and San Diego State. UNLV won the doubles point to jump out to a 1-0 advantage. All-MW conference duo Jakob Amilon and Ruben Alberts knocked off Patrik Pech and Euan McIntosh at the top of the lineup with a 6-2 victory; while, Alexandr Cozbinov and Richard Solberg doubled up on Youssef Hassan and Mantas Bugailiskis, 6-3 on court three. Moving to singles, the Bulldogs started to build momentum, earning the first point to even the contest at 1-1. However, UNLV captured the next two points with wins at the Nos. 1 and 6 positions. All MW-conference member Amilon downed Nikolas Papic, 6-1, 7-6 (3), before Solberg knocked off Jeremy Moser, 6-3, 6-4 at the bottom of the lineup. Bugailiskis pulled Fresno State to within one, at 3-2, with a victory vs. All-MW Alberts, 6-2, 6-4, in the No. 3 position. Evaldo Neto put a stop to the Bulldog rally with a win against Pech, 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-3, at No. 4. The victory sealed the 4-2 win for the Rebels and pushed them into the title match for the first time since 2007.

2016 Team Photo

No. 1: CHAMPS!
UNLV Beats Broncos for Conference Crown (May 1, 2016)
The fourth-seeded UNLV men's tennis team upended second-seeded and 59th-ranked Boise State 4-3 to capture the program's second Mountain West Conference tournament championship on an unforgettable Sunday at the Fertitta Tennis Complex. The win marked an end to Boise State's four-year run of Mountain West titles and shattered the Broncos' perfect 13-0 all-time record in Championship play. It also meant that head coach Owen Hambrook and his Rebels were headed to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2007 after securing the league's automatic bid. It marked the fifth conference tournament championship in program history but the second since UNLV won three straight as part of the Big West Conference in 1994-96. With their fifth straight victory, the fourth-seeded Rebels improved to 15-9 overall while the second-seeded Broncos saw their own six-match winning streak snapped to end their season at 20-10. The Rebels earned the crucial doubles point with wins at the No. 2 and No. 1 positions. Boise State won the first doubles contest of the match at No. 3 when Brian Foley and Pedro Platzeck defeated Alexandr Cozbinov and Richard Solberg, 6-2. UNLV responded with a win on court 2 where Adam Gage-Brown and Evaldo Neto doubled up on Lewis Roskilly and ThomasTenreiro, 6-3. Jakob Amilon and Ruben Alberts sealed the doubles tally for the Rebels with a 6-4 victory at the top of the lineup. Moving to singles, UNLV gained a quick 2-0 advantage when Amilon won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, on court one. Boise State started to rally, picking up a victory at the No. 3 position. The team score was evened a two apiece after the Broncos knocked off Neto, 6-3, 7-5. Gage-Brown regained the lead for the Rebels by winning in straight-sets, 7-6, 6-2, pulling UNLV within one point of clinching the title. A Bronco put the Rebels' celebration plans on hold by rallying to knock off Cozbinov at No. 2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. With the match tied at 3-3, both team's title hopes rested on the No. 6 match between Solberg and Roskilly. The UNLV freshman dropped the first set, 6-4, but rallied to win the second and third frames, 6-0, 6-3, to clinch the championship for the Rebels. "On our Facebook page, Mehdi Bouras' dad wrote a nice message to the team saying 'Don't just be happy to be in the final -- go out and win it.' And that's what I told the guys -- and that's what we did," said Hambrook. "And this one is for Mehdi (2011 Mountain West Player of the Year who tragically passed away at the age of 24 in 2013). It's been a while since our last one and it feels awesome. This is for all of the Rebels, not just this year's group, but all of them over the years."

Amilon

Players Mentioned

Ruben Alberts

Clayton Alenik

Alexandr Cozbinov

Eric Samuelsson

Richard Solberg

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