LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The 74th-ranked UNLV men's tennis team had all the momentum – until the very end – as top-seeded and 57th-ranked Utah State rallied for a 4-3 win in the semifinals of the Credit Union 1 Men's Tennis Championship Thursday night at the Darling Tennis Center.
 
The fourth-seeded Rebels ended their season at 14-8 while the Aggies, who went undefeated in MW regular-season play, improved to 18-5 and will face Boise State for the league title on Friday.

UNLV grabbed the lead after a doozy of a doubles session. Illia Maksymchuk and Marko Maksimovic downed Jean-Baptiste Badon and Dmitri Goubin, 6-2, on court two but both of the other two matches went to a tiebreaker. At the top of the lineup, Arda Karakas and Ilia Snitari gutted out a 7-6 (10-8) victory over Xavier Calvelo and Jakub Medved to clinch the point for the Rebels.

After USU tied it with a singles win at No. 4, UNLV got a straight-setter from Taiyo Hirano, 6-2, 6-3, over Goubin down on court six. The Aggies would re-tie the match with a stunner at the top as Badon upset 65th-ranked Snitari, 6-3, 6-2, to hand the MW Player of the Year only his third loss ever as a Rebel. UNLV again took the lead when Vitaliy Horovoy got by Medved at No. 5, 7-6, 6-4. The Rebels needed just one more point and both remaining matches split sets. USU proved too tough, however, winning both to eke out the come-from-behind win.

Men's Tennis Match Results
Credit Union 1 Mountain West Championship Semifinal
(1) #57 UTAH STATE 4, (4) #74 UNLV 3
April 23, 2026, at Las Vegas
(Darling Tennis Center)

Singles competition
1. Jean-Baptiste Badon (USU) def. #65 Ilia Snitari (UNLVMT) 6-3, 6-2
2. Xavier Calvelo (USU) def. Marko Maksimovic (UNLVMT) 7-5, 4-6, 6-1
3. Roman Venger (USU) def. Illia Maksymchuk (UNLVMT) 7-5, 2-6, 6-0
4. Eliot Nobel (USU) def. Arda Karakas (UNLVMT) 6-2, 6-2
5. Vitaliy Horovoy (UNLVMT) def. Jakub Medved (USU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
6. Taiyo Hirano (UNLVMT) def. Dmitri Goubin (USU) 6-2, 6-3
 
Doubles competition
1. Arda Karakas/Ilia Snitari (UNLVMT) def. Xavier Calvelo/Jakub Medved (USU) 7-6 (10-8)
2. Illia Maksymchuk/Marko Maksimovic (UNLVMT) def. Jean-Baptiste Badon/Dmitri Goubin (USU) 6-2
3. Eliot Nobel/Roman Venger (USU) vs. Joel Gibson/Taiyo Hirano (UNLVMT) 6-6, unfinished
 
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (4,6,1,5,3,2)