UNLV placing high regard on doubles

It means so much in college tennis, yet it is so often overlooked.

After all, it’s just one point. A team can start a match with three doubles wins and still earn just a single point.

But at UNLV, that point is approached with the utmost respect. Though they’re often underestimated as the Rebels’ No. 2 men’s doubles team, sophomore Luca Barlocchi and senior David Campbell realize the importance of their role.

“If you win the doubles point, it gives the team more energy,” Campbell said. “It’s only one point, but it gives you a head start and sends an early message to the other team.”

Of course, teams have recovered from doubles losses to win matches. But in close contests, that one point often provides not only an advantage in the score, but also the momentum a team needs to get past a tough opponent.

“It’s the first point of the match,” said UNLV men’s coach Owen Hambrook, whose squad won both doubles points in victories over Weber State and Utah State last weekend. “It’s just a huge plus (going into singles) knowing that you have the lead.”

Barlocchi agreed.

“It’s a big part of college tennis,” he said. “That one point often decides the close matches, and it’s such a big difference to start up or down by a point.”

But doubles success doesn’t come easily. In fact, it involves much more than shoving a couple of players onto the court together. Campbell said it’s beneficial for members of a doubles team to establish a close relationship.

“We spend a lot of time together,” Campbell said of Barlocchi. “We pretty much live next door to each other and we hang out every day.”

Barlocchi echoed that assessment.

“We get along really well,” he said. “You get to know how the other guy feels, and there are certain things you do over and over again.”

Each player knows his role in the success of the team.

“We’re pretty compatible on the court,” Campbell said. “I like to hit the aggressive shot and he’s the consistent guy who makes all the returns. We like to try to meet somewhere in the middle.”

That way of thinking, Hambrook said, explains the success of his No. 2 squad.

“You try to combine a consistent player with a shot-maker,” he said. “David is really aggressive and Luca sets him up a lot.”

Though Campbell and Barlocchi only have been together since fall, the combination is working. The duo is off to an 8-4 start, and has looked sharp even in its losses.

“I thought we played well against Texas Tech,” said Barlocchi, who noted that he and Campbell kept the score close in a loss to then-No. 11 Ilya Babinciuc and Michael Breler. “That showed us we can play with any good team in college tennis.”

Perhaps a portion of that success can be attributed to the duo’s positive approach. Though many players consider doubles play to be an inconvenient responsibility, Campbell and Barlocchi said they enjoy their time together on the court.

“I actually like to play doubles,” Campbell said. “I’d prefer it over singles if I had the chance, to tell the truth.”

He probably won’t get that chance, but he does predict continued improvement for all of UNLV’s doubles teams this season.

“We’re working on it a lot in practice,” Barlocchi said. “Our goal is to have three really solid doubles teams.”

The Rebels’ next chance to test that progress will come Saturday when they play at Fresno State.