Men Upset UNLV, Advance In MWC Tennis Champs.
FORT WORTH -- Fifth-seeded BYU upset No. 4 UNLV 4-2 on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Mountain West Conference Men's Tennis Championships.
The Cougars took the early 1-0 lead after winning the doubles points with an 8-3 victory from Daniel Hwang and Thomas Shubert at the No. 2 position and an 8-4 win from Cassidy Mears and Evan Urbina over Bryan Miller and Rony Yeghnazary at the No. 3 position.
"This was a huge win for our team," said head coach Brad Pearce. "Once again this was a total complete team effort and winning the doubles point was key to our success."
BYU would extend their lead to 3-0 after posting wins at the No. 5 and No. 2 positions. BYU's Hwang led off singles play with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Yeghnazary, while Shubert followed with a 6-1, 7-6(4) defeat of Wes Burrows.
UNLV's Elliot Wronski, ranked No. 87 nationally, put the Rebels on the board with a 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-1 win over Sanchez at the top position.
Campbell kept the Rebels in the match with a 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 victory over Urbina to bring UNLV within one, 3-2.
BYU's AJ Young would put a stop to the UNLV rally with a 6-2, 6-7(4), 7-5 win over Bryan Miller at the No. 6 position to clinch the win.
"Everyone battled through to the very end, never letting up," added coach Pearce.
The Cougars will face top-seeded TCU in the semifinals on Friday at 2 p.m. CDT.
No. 5 BYU (15-11) def. No. 4 UNLV (10-12), 4-2
SINGLES
1. No. 87 Elliot Wronski (UNLV) def. Jonathan Sanchez (BYU) 6-1, 6-7(4),
6-1
2. Thomas Shubert (BYU) def. Wes Burrows (UNLV) 6-1, 7-6(4)
3. Luca Barlocchi (UNLV) vs. Cassidy Mears (BYU) 6-7(6), 6-4, 3-2, dnf.
4. David Campbell (UNLV) def. Evan Urbina (BYU) 7-5, 1-6, 6-4
5. Daniel Hwang (BYU) def. Rony Yeghnazary (UNLV) 6-1, 6-1
6. A.J. Young (BYU) def. Bryan Miller (UNLV) 6-2, 6-7(4), 7-5
Order of Finish: 5, 2, 1, 4, 6*
DOUBLES
1. Wronski/Campbell (UNLV) def. Sanchez/Young (BYU) 8-2
2. Hwang/Shurbert (BYU) def. Barlocchi/Burrows (UNLV) 8-3
3. Mears/Urbina (BYU) def. Miller/Yeghnazary (UNLV) 8-4