Wronski, Burrows sent out on Senior Day win

March 26, 2009 by Matt Maxson 

Rebels sweep Tigers to finish regular season, prep for conference

There was no way Elliot Wronski was leaving his home court with a loss. Even after the Rebels were leading Idaho State, 6-0, Wronski made sure that he won his singles match against Javier Royo to give UNLV the sweep.

“We need [Wronski] more than ever,” UNLV coach Owen Hambrook said. “I told him, before he played No. 1 as a sophomore, ‘Every match you play at No. 1 is going to be tough.’ Today was a perfect example of that. We need him to be determined, we need that fight in him from here on out.”

The men’s tennis team improved to 11-7 overall on Tuesday and closed their Las Vegas schedule with a mark of 11-5 as four-year starters Wronski and Wesley Burrows played their final home match.

“With Elliot and [Burrows] being seniors, it’s good to see them both win and it’s a good match for us leading to our regular season conference schedule,” Hambrook said.

The Rebels began the morning by sweeping three doubles matches for one team point. The top duo of Wronksi and Luca Barlocchi, ranked 75th in the nation, fought off Royo and Danel Barrenechea 8-6 at the No. 1 position. Attila Toth and Nikolaj Wulff won 8-1 on court two and Burrows and Mehdi Bouras teamed up for an 8-4 victory at No. 3.

UNLV also did not lose a set in singles play. Along with Wronski’s victory, Bouras won 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2 providing a glimpse of the team after the senior’s departure.

“You very rarely go out and recruit a guy who can play No. 1,” Hambrook said. “It’s very unusual but Mehdi is a guy who has the potential to be a future No. 1. Not yet, but it’s great to have a guy who can step up to that next year.”

Burrows won his final Fertitta appearance 6-2, 6-0 at No. 3, Barlocchi won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4, Wulff won 6-1, 6-2 at No. 5 and Matthew Kunkel breezed on court six, 6-0, 6-1.

UNLV now departs for Colorado Springs, Colo., where the Rebels will open their Mountain West Conference season with a trio of matches this weekend, starting with San Diego State on Friday.

Hambrook said that for his team to be successful and claim their second title in three years, they’ll have to play to a level he isn’t sure they’ve reached, yet.

“We really haven’t had a match where everyone’s played well,” Hambrook said. “We’ve had matches where some people have played well and some people haven’t. As long as we keep focusing on our performance goals and what we need to do we’ll be fine. I’m not worried about winning or losing, I’m just worried about our performance. If we can do that, the rest will take care of itself.”