Top-seeded player bounces UNLV’s ace from tourney

Thursday, May 27, 1999 | 10:31 a.m.

James Blake cleared his first hurdle Wednesday in his quest to return the NCAA tennis singles championship to Harvard for the first time in 63 years.

The top-seeded Blake, a sophomore from Fairfield, Conn., defeated UNLV's Asaf Tishler 6-2, 6-3 at Athens, Ga.

"I was a little nervous coming into this match," said Blake. "I generally try to control the points. When I tend to lose matches, I lose them because I'm too tentative. I just try to use my speed and weapons the best I can."

The 33rd-ranked Tishler, a senior from Tel Aviv, Israel, finished the season with a 20-9 record and completed his UNLV career with a 85-36 mark. He stands seventh on the UNLV singles victories list and is fifth on the school doubles list with 81 wins.

The UNLV doubles entry of Gregor Skorin and Nenad Zivkovic play a first-round match today against third-seeded Jong Min-Lee and Jean-Noel Grinda of UCLA. Skorin and Zivkovic are unseeded.

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