Rebels net Clay Court victory

Monday, Sept. 28, 1998 | 10:15 a.m.

The UNLV doubles team of Nenad Zivkovic and Gregor Skorin concluded its stunning run by winning three matches Sunday to capture the title of the National Clay Court Championships in Baltimore.

The duo, ranked 25th nationally, earned UNLV its third-ever Grand Slam title by collecting three victories in one day -- all in straight sets.

The morning started with a quarterfinal win over fourth-seeded and ninth-ranked Esteban Carril and Martin Jirak of TCU, 6-2, 6-3. Carril went on to win the singles championship at the event.

Then came a 7-6, 7-5 semifinal victory over 16th-ranked Cary Franklin and Oliver Freelove of Illinois. And in the finals, the Rebel tandem defeated 17th-ranked Myles Clouston and Raul Munoz of Wake Forest 6-1, 6-4.

Zivkovic and Skorin, both sophomores from Belgrade, Serbia (the former Yugoslavia), won five matches this week in the 32-team draw, four of which were against doubles teams ranked in the nation's top 20.

The Clay Court Championships make up the first leg of the ITA Collegiate Grand Slam, which also includes the ITA All-American Championships, the Rolex National Indoor Championships and the NCAA Championships.

UNLV's only previous Grand Slam titles for either its men's and women's programs came in 1997 when Luke Smith won the NCAA singles championship and teamed with Tim Blenkiron to earn the NCAA doubles title the same day.

"Nenad and Gregor are following in the footsteps of the great doubles teams we've had at UNLV in the past few years," coach Larry Easley said. "They're both big and strong and really elevated their games as the tournament wore on. When they're on, they can beat any team in the country and they showed that this week."

Also, in the consolation draw of singles play, senior Asaf Tishler, ranked 27th, lost in a marathon semifinal match, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6, to Jon Wallmark of TCU.