UNLV men’s tennis team excels on first day of ITA Mountain Region Championships

UNLV senior Jakob Amilon, shown last season, was one of four Rebels singles players to post victories Wednesday on the opening day of the ITA Mountain Region Championships at Darling Tennis Center. (Daniel Clark/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @DanJClarkPhoto)

UNLV had four singles entries and three doubles teams survive the opening day of the ITA Mountain Region Championships on Wednesday at Darling Tennis Center.

No. 3 seed Jakob Amilon, No. 4 seed Alexandr Cozbinov and No. 9 seed Ruben Alberts each opened with a bye and then notched a victory, and Courtney Lock posted two straight-set wins.

Amilon, ranked No. 124, beat Brigham Young’s Derek Vincent 6-4, 6-2. Alberts defeated Air Force’s Isaac Perez 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Cozbinov dominated Idaho’s Luca Coutinho 6-1, 6-0. And Lock downed Northern Colorado’s Cassell King 6-1, 6-0 and Northern Arizona’s Felix Schumann 6-1, 7-5.

All three Rebels doubles teams that competed advanced, while the fourth-seeded duo of Amilon and Alberts had a bye.

Action resumes Thursday with two rounds of singles and a round of doubles.

Members from 16 Western teams are facing off as individuals each day through Sunday in singles and doubles.

The singles and doubles champions advance to the USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, slated for Nov. 3-6 in Flushing, New York.