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Do-Over Time For Nehles
MWC Player of the Year gets second chance at playing in NCAA tournament.
May 5, 2005 LAS VEGAS - After missing out on last year's event because of a broken hand, UNLV men's tennis star Henner Nehles has earned an invitation to the 2005 NCAA Singles Championship to be held at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas, on May 25-30, the national governing body announced Thursday. The top four players in each of the NCAA's eight regions receive automatic bids and the senior from Duisburg, Germany, earned his berth from the Mountain Region. Joining him at the singles tournament will be fellow Mountain Region players Luke Shields of Boise State, Shannon Buck of Air Force and Adam Holmstrom of Denver. The field of 64 will also includes 32 at-large players. The draw will be released the week of the tournament. Named the 2005 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and All-MWC for the third time in as many years, Nehles currently holds a 28-8 overall record, including a torrid 19-5 mark at the No. 1 dual position. He was ranked a career-high 38th in the nation back in January and currently stands at 74 while enjoying a 10-match winning streak. His 28 wins tie for the sixth-most in program history and are the best by a Rebel since 1994. His career winning percentage of .718 puts him eighth on the school's all-time list. "This is a fitting way for a great college career to end" UNLV head coach Owen Hambrook said. "Henner had an unbelievable year and after missing out last year, he his looking forward to showing what he can do on college tennis' biggest stage." Because he was forced to withdraw from the field a year ago, Nehles will become the first Rebel to compete at the tournament since Thomas Schneiter made it into the Round of 16 in 2002 en route to All-America honors. Five other Rebels have competed at the final event of the college season with some spectacular results. Luke Smith went to two tournaments and, as a senior in 1997, rolled through the field to win the school's first tennis national championship. He then teamed with Tim Blenkiron a few hours later to win the doubles title as well. Two-time All-American Roger Pettersson holds the school record of qualifying for the most such tournaments with three (1994-96). Overall, UNLV men boast an 11-9 record all-time in singles play. Below is the complete list of Rebels and their records at the NCAA Singles Championship.
UNLV IN THE NCAA MEN'S TENNIS SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP
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