LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV's two entries in the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Singles Championship found out who their first-round opponents will be as the draw was officially announced on Saturday.
 
Sophomore Ilia Snitari (Kishinev, Moldova), ranked 83rd nationally in the preseason, is 10-0 this fall and 18-0 in his collegiate career. He will square off with Shu Matsuoka of Arizona State starting at 1:30 p.m. PT.
 
Senior Illia Maksymchuk (Kharkiv, Ukraine), who is 9-1 this fall, will face Jack Loutit of Kentucky (seeded 9-16) at 10 a.m. PT.
 
Both Rebels earned automatic bids to the 64-player national championship draw by reaching the final round of the ITA Mountain West Regional staged last month. Both of their opponents earned spots through their respective ITA Sectional Championships.
 
The tournament kicks off Tuesday and culminates with the singles national championship on Sunday at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. All matches shall be the best-of-three sets. No-ad scoring and a seven-point tiebreaker (first to seven points, must win by two points) at six-games-all will be used for all matches. In doubles, a 10-point match tiebreaker will be played in lieu of a third set.
 
It will mark the first time any UNLV tennis player – men's or women's – will be a part of the NCAA field since Christopher Bulus went in 2022. The only previous year that UNLV sent more than one player was 1996 when senior Roger Pettersson and junior Luke Smith both earned at-large bids.
 
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