Nov. 4, 2006

LAS VEGAS - Illinois men's tennis freshmen Billy Heiser and Sasha Kharkevitch wrapped up another successful weekend with their performance at the Rebel Classic in Las Vegas today. The two Illini battled their way into the quarterfinals of the singles bracket, while also teaming up in the doubles draw to advance into the semifinals.

Both Heiser and Kharkevitch notched wins in the Round of 16 on Friday, Nov. 3, with Heiser dismissing Luca Barlocchi of UNLV, 7-6, 6-2, while Kharkevitch defeated Wes Burrows of UNLV, 6-4, 6-2.

In the quarterfinals, Heiser ran into a tough competitor in Dominik Kaufhold, coming up short against the BYU netter in a 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 loss. Kharkevitch, in his second singles match of the year, could not get rolling in his 6-3, 6-2 loss to Rudolf Siwy of Fresno State.

In the final match on Friday, Heiser and Kharkevitch easily handled the doubles tandem of Michael Eraso and Albert Nersesyan of BYU, 8-2, in their Round of 16 doubles tilt.

On Saturday, Nov. 4, Heiser and Kharkevitch took the courts for their doubles quarterfinal match, facing Roberto Bianco and Matt Carroll of Fresno Pacific. With their momentum carrying over from the previous round, the freshmen battled to an 8-5 victory, setting up their semifinal tilt against top-seeded James Ludlow and Matt Carroll of BYU. Despite a valiant effort, the Illini youngsters doubles run came to an end in an 8-5 loss.

Due to team travel and participation, Sunday's matches were cancelled and the three-day event was cut short.

The Illini will conclude the fall season with the annual USTA Illinois Challenger being held at the Atkins Tennis Center Nov. 11-18 in Urbana.

REBEL CLASSIC RESULTS
Friday, Nov. 3
FLIGHT ONE (Round of 16)
Sasha Kharkevitch (ILL) def. Wes Burrows (UNLV); 6-4, 6-2
Billy Heiser (ILL) def. Luca Barlocchi (UNLV); 7-6, 6-2

FLIGHT ONE (Quarterfinals)
Rudolf Siwy (Fresno St.) def. Sasha Kharkevitch (ILL); 6-3, 6-2
Dominik Kaufhold (BYU) def. Billy Heiser (ILL); 7-6, 4-6, 6-3

DOUBLES (Round of 16)
Heiser/Kharkevitch (ILL) def. Michael Eraso/Albert Nersesyan (BYU);8-2

Saturday, Nov. 4
DOUBLES (Quarterfinals)
Heiser/Kharkevitch (ILL) def. Roberto Bianco/Matt Carroll (Fresno Pacific); 8-5

DOUBLES (Semifinals)
James Ludlow/Dominik Kaufhold (BYU) def. Heiser/Kharkevitch (ILL); 8-5