LOS ANGELES (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV men's tennis was blanked 7-0 at No. 15 UCLA on Sunday afternoon at the LA Tennis Center and Rebel All-American Ilia Snitari lost for the first time in a dual match.
 
The Rebels fell to 5-3 while the high-powered Bruins improved to 5-2.
 
The day started out with a competitive session of doubles as Snitari and partner Arda Karakas breezed by Aadarsh Tripath and Spencer Johnson, 6-1, at the top of the lineup. UCLA, however, picked up a 6-3 win at No. 3 and then clinched the team point with a 6-4 triumph at No. 2.
 
In singles, the hosts, who feature a trio of nationally ranked players, posted quick straight-setters on courts 2-4 to reach the required four points. Rebels Taiyo Hirano and Vitaliy Horovoy, however, both forced a tiebreaker before falling to their opponents.
 
Snitari, ranked 44th, came in having won all 14 of his appearances in dual matches as a Rebel and boasting an overall mark of 18-1 this season. Facing off with 118th-ranked Johnson at No. 1, he dropped the first set 6-3 before rallying to win the second, 7-5. With the overall match already decided, the two stars played a super-tiebreaker, which Johnson ground out, 15-13, to drop Snitari's career record to 26-2.
 
UP NEXT: UNLV will head back to the Golden State for the third straight weekend, this time playing at former Big West Conference rival Pacific on Friday at 1 p.m.
 
Men's Tennis Match Results
#15 UCLA 7, UNLV 0
Feb. 15, 2026, at Los Angeles
(LA Tennis Stadium)

Singles competition
1. #118 Spencer Johnson (UCLA) def. #44 Ilia Snitari (UNLV) 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (15-13)
2. #111 Rudy Quan (UCLA) def. Marko Maksimovic (UNLV) 6-2, 6-2
3. #35 Emon Van Loben Sels (UCLA) def. Illia Maksymchuk (UNLV) 6-4, 6-1
4. Andy Nguyen (UCLA) def. Michael Kouame (UNLV) 6-1, 6-0
5. Cassiuis Chinlund (UCLA) def. Vitaliy Horovoy (UNLV) 6-4, 7-6
6. Gianluca Ballotta (UCLA) def. Taiyo Hirano (UNLV) 7-6, 6-2
 
Doubles competition
1. Ilia Snitari/Arda Karakas (UNLV) def. Aadarsh Tripathi/Spencer Johnson (UCLA) 6-1
2. Emon Van Loben Sels/Gianluca Ballotta (UCLA) def. Illia Maksymchuk/Marko Maksimovic (UNLV) 6-4
3. Bengt Reinhard/Rudy Quan (UCLA) def. Michael Kouame/Taiyo Hirano (UNLV) 6-3
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (4,2,3,6,1,5)