Sixth-Seeded UNLV Upsets No. 3 Seed Utah to Advance to the Semifinals of the 2009 MWC Men's Tennis Championship

April 23, 2009

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -

After narrowly dropping the doubles point, the sixth-seeded UNLV men's tennis team racked up four two-set singles wins en route to a 4-2 win over the third-seeded and 49th-ranked Utah Utes Thursday afternoon at the Jerry Cline Tennis Center in Albuquerque, N.M. The unranked Rebels took singles in the No. 1 through No. 4 positions to advance to the semifinal match.

The doubles matches set the tone early with the point going down to the third match. Utah's Wes Hancock and Phillip Eilers, who are ranked 47th in the nation, downed UNLV's Elliot Wronski and Luca Barlocchi, 8-4, at the No. 1 position. At No. 3, Utah's Benito Suriano and Stephen Jacobs evened it up, defeating Attila Toth and Nikolaj Wulff. Utah pulled away with the doubles point at the No. 2 position, with Timmy Allin and John Taylor capturing a 9-7 decision over Mehdi Bouras and Wesley Burrows.

UNLV's Elliot Wronski cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Wes Hancock at the No. 1 position to tie up the score at 1-1. Utah reclaimed the lead when Timmy Allin defeated Bryan Miller at the No. 6 postion, 6-1, 6-2. The Utah advantage was short-lived, however, as UNLV secured three consecutive matches. At the No. 4 slot, Luca Barlocchi dominated in the first set, 6-0, and stole the second set, 7-5. Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year Mehdi Bouras made it 3-2 Rebels with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Benito Suriano. Wesley Burrows put the win away for the Rebels with a 6-3, 6-2 win over John Taylor.

The Rebels will face the winner of the second-seeded New Mexico/seventh-seeded Air Force match at 2 p.m. MT on Friday, April 24.

Tennis Match Results - #6 UNLV 4, #3 Utah 2
Apr 23, 2009 at Albuquerque, N.M.
(Jerry Cline Tennis Center)

Singles competition
1. Elliot Wronski (UNLV) def. Wes Hancock (UTAH) 6-2, 6-1
2. Mehdi Bouras (UNLV) def. Phillip Eilers (UTAH) 7-5, 6-2
3. Wesley Burrows (UNLV) def. Benito Suriano (UTAH) 6-3, 6-2
4. Luca Barlocchi (UNLV) def. John Taylor (UTAH) 6-0, 7-5
5. Jason Smits (UTAH) vs. Attila Toth (UNLV) 4-6, 3-5, unfinished
6. Timmy Allin (UTAH) def. Bryan Miller (UNLV) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. #47 Wes Hancock/Phillip Eilers (UTAH) def. #75 Elliot Wronski/Luca Barlocchi (UNLV) 8-4
2. Wesley Burrows/Mehdi Bouras (UNLV) def. Timmy Allin/John Taylor (UTAH) 9-7
3. Benito Suriano/Stephen Jacobs (UTAH) def. Attila Toth/Nikolaj Wulff (UNLV) 8-6

Match Notes:
#6 UNLV 14-11, 2-4 MWC
#3 Utah 16-9, 4-2 MWC; National ranking #49
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,6,4,2,3)
2009 Mountain West Conference Tournament Quarterfinals