UNLV roundup: Five tennis players given league honors
UNLV junior Izumi Asano and senior En-Pei Huang were named to the All-Mountain West women’s tennis team in singles and as a doubles team, the league announced Thursday.
It marked the third singles honor for Asano and second for Huang, who was honored in doubles for a fourth time.
Asano, from Kasugai, Japan, went 8-6 in singles, including 4-3 from the No. 1 spot in dual matches. She was named the Mountain West’s player of the week in two straight weeks in February.
Huang, from Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, went 9-8 in singles, including 4-3 in duals from the No. 2 spot.
As a doubles team, Asano and Huang went 15-3, including 6-0 in dual matches. They won the program’s first ITA regional doubles title in the fall and then rose to No. 13 in the national rankings before finishing No. 20.
Huang became the fourth Rebels player to gain four all-league doubles honors, joining Aiwen Zhu (2016-19), Kristina Nedletcheva (2007-10) and Marianne Vallin (1994-97).
In total, the Mountain West recognized 16 singles players and eight doubles teams.
MEN’S TENNIS
Senior Alex Kobelt was named All-Mountain West in singles and doubles, senior Eric Samuelsson in singles and junior Jordan Sauer in doubles.
Kobelt, from Columbus, Ohio, transferred to UNLV from Ohio State. He went 14-5 in singles, including 7-2 at the No. 1 position. He teamed with Sauer, from Pretoria, South Africa, to go 12-5 in doubles, including 9-4 in duals from the No. 1 spot.
Samuelsson, from Ahus, Sweden, went 11-3 in singles, including 10-1 from the No. 2 position. He was named league player of the week twice en route to his second all-league designation.
As a team, the Rebels went 13-1 — including their first 10-0 start. Their .929 winning percentage set a program record.
In total, the Mountain West recognized 12 singles players and six doubles teams.