UNLV notebook: Tennis teams begin play in MWC tourneys

Thursday, April 26, 2001 | 9:42 a.m.

UNLV's men's and women's tennis teams begin play today in their respective Mountain West Conference championship tournaments and for the first time in more than a month, the men's team is back to full strength.

The third-seeded men's team, which had been hampered by injuries for the past month, will face sixth-seeded Air Force in the first round. The men's tournament is being held in Salt Lake City.

"We are back to being relatively healthy and have six players ready to compete for the first time since mid-March," UNLV head coach Larry Easley said. "The altitude in Utah will be a factor but we definitely have a shot at winning it."

The Rebels' women's team, also seeded third, will open against sixth-seed Colorado State in the tournament, which is being held in Fort Collins, Colo.

"This is a wide-open conference and anyone can win it -- we proved that last year, because we were the fourth seed," head coach Kevin Cory said.

Both tournaments run through Saturday and the winners earn an automatic berth into an NCAA regional.