Air Force Academy

March 10, 2011

The Air Force men's tennis team had its four-match winning streak snapped Thursday in their 2011 Mountain West Conference opener, falling 7-0 to 48th-ranked UNLV at the Academy. With the victory, UNLV improved to 12-6, while the Falcons fell to 8-3.

The Falcons fell behind 1-0 when UNLV won the Nos. 1 and 2 doubles matches, both in tiebreakers. Freshmen Alex Grubbs and Ali Rizvi captured the only Air Force win at No. 3 with an 8-6 win over Bernard Schoeman and Kasper Konyves. UNLV's No.1 team of Mehdi Bouras and Johannes Markel downed AFA sophomore Lance Wilhelm and freshman Andy Jackson, 9-8(3), then Rene Ruegamer and Alex Bull saved three match points and rallied to beat senior Taylor Soster and freshman Lucas Marin-Salcedo, 9-8(3).

In singles, UNLV won four of the six singles matches in straight sets. Marin-Salcedo had a match point in the second-set tiebreaker against Markel but ended up losing, 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-4, at No. 2. The other three-setter came at the No. 3 spot, where Tamas Batyi beat Jackson, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-4. Bouras, ranked 66th in the country, defeated Wilhelm, 6-4, 6-4 at the top spot.

"Our guys played tough against a very good UNLV team," said Air Force head coach Dan Oosterhous. "We had opportunities to get points on the board, but couldn't close the door in several matches. UNLV deserves a lot of credit for playing a great match."

The Falcons are idle until they play four matches in Honolulu, Hawaii over spring break, beginning against Hawaii Pacific on Monday, March 21.

UNLV 7, Air Force 0
Thursday, March 10, 2011
USAFA, Colo.

Singles
1. Mehdi Bouras (UNLV) def. Lance Wilhelm, 6-4, 6-4
2. Johannes Markel (UNLV) def. Lucas Marin-Salcedo, 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-4
3. Tamas Batyi (UNLV) def. Andy Jackson, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-4
4. Rene Ruegamer (UNLV) def. Alex Grubbs, 6-2, 6-4
5. Alex Bull (UNLV) def. Taylor Soster, 7-6(3), 6-2
6. Kasper Konyves (UNLV) def. Steven Young, 7-5, 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 4, 3, 2, 5, 6