Rebels come back to beat Griz 6-1 in Vegas

Saturday, March 18

Las Vegas, Nev.

Noon (MT)

Montana

UNLV

3/18/2017 5:52:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Montana Sports Information

Subbing in for the sick Yannick Schmidl, Grizzly junior Ignacio Tejerina stepped into the doubles pairing with Alexander Canellopoulos for the Montana men's tennis team and proceeded to roll to a 6-1 win on court two to put UM up early in the round.

But on their home court, the UNLV Runnin' Rebels (9-3) proved too strong for the Griz, coming back to win the doubles point and taking three-straight wins in the singles round to defeat the Griz 6-1 in Las Vegas on Saturday at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.

The loss puts Montana at 0-2 so far on their spring break road trip to the Southwest, and 7-5 on the season after falling to #5 Oklahoma State on Friday night.

"We had them on the ropes; then we let them off the ropes in the dubs point. I thought we had a chance there," said Grizzly head coach Kris Nord. "But we competed really well at most of the spots today."

Playing only their second outdoor match of the year, the heat of the Vegas desert wore on the Griz, as the top of UNLV's lineup cruised past Montana in straight sets on court two, one and six to clinch the match.

Tejerina picked up Montana's only point of the game on the No. 5 court after the Rebels had already sealed the match when Richard Solberg retired early.

Victor Casadevall made his second-straight appearance on the No. 1 singles court, falling to Jakob Amilon 6-1, 6-2.

"They're a tough team. We had some good fight out there, and that's what we're after," Nord added. "The heat got us. It was getting hot at the end of the match, and we're not used to it."

Montana now hits the road for Phoenix, Ariz., on Sunday morning to prepare for a match against Grand Canyon on Monday followed by a match against Arizona Christian on Tuesday.

Grand Canyon enters the dual at 10-9 on the season, having dropped a 2-4 decision to Idaho on Wednesday, but also holding wins over Big Sky powerhouse Sacramento State and Northern Colorado.

"Grand Canyon is good," said Nord. "They've beaten almost all the Big Sky opponents they've faced, and looking at their results; it's going to be a tough match."

The Griz and 'Lopes will dish out the first serve at noon Mountain Time on Monday, March 20.

Montana vs UNLV
Mar 18, 2017 at Las Vegas, NV
(Fertitta Tennis Complex)

UNLV 6, Montana 1

Singles competition
1. Jakob Amilon (UNLV) def. CASADEVALL, Victor (UM) 6-1, 6-2
2. Alexandr Cozbinov (UNLV) def. MIMNAGH-FLEMING, P. (UM) 6-1, 6-1
3. Ruben Alberts (UNLV) def. KORKH, Max (UM) 7-5, 6-1
4. Courtney Lock (UNLV) def. CANELLOPOULOS, Alex (UM) 7-5, 6-4
5. TEJERINA, Ignacio (UM) def. Richard Solberg (UNLV) 3-6, 2-3, retired
6. Charlie Croxford (UNLV) def. SCHOENHERR, Jacob (UM) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Courtney Lock/Ruben Alberts (UNLV) def. MIMNAGH-FLEMING, P./KORKH, Max (UM) 6-4
2. CANELLOPOULOS, Alex/TEJERINA, Ignacio (UM) def. Adam Gage-Brown/Richard Solberg (UNLV) 6-1
3. Alexandr Cozbinov/Charlie Croxford (UNLV) def. CASADEVALL, Victor/HALLGREN, Ludvig (UM) 6-2

Match Notes:
Montana 7-5
UNLV 9-3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,1,6,5,3,4)