Feb. 16, 2002

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Andy Madersbacher, Jason Trask and Jordan Butler all won singles matches to lead Utah State's men's tennis team to a 4-3 victory against Weber State at the UNLV Spring Invitational here on Saturday.

The Aggies, now 3-5, will meet Idaho State for fifth place in the seven-team tournament. USU opened the tournament with a 5-2 loss against New Mexico State on Friday.

The hard-fought match with Weber State featured four of the six singles matches going three sets, with the Wildcats claiming three of those. Madersbacher won at number one singles for the second straight day, claiming USU's lone three-set victory.

Aggies who lost in three sets included Clayton Thomas at number two, Steve Peterson at number five and Sam Harris at number six. In each of those three matches, USU won second sets to force the third sets.

Trask cruised to an easy 6-1, 6-1 win at number three singles, while Jordan Butler posted a 6-4, 6-0 win at number four singles.

In doubles action, USU won two of the three matches to claim the doubles point. Madersbacher and Thomas won at number one, while Jonah Nelson teamed with Butler to win at number two.

UNLV will meet Colorado for the tournament title on Sunday, while New Mexico State will play Nevada-Reno for third place. Weber State finished seventh.

UTAH STATE 4, WEBER STATE 3

Singles

#1 - Andy Madersbacher (USU) def. Daniel Salvato, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4

#2 - Philip Ivanov (WSU) def. Clayton Thomas, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3

#3 - Jason Trask (USU) def. Vlad Bahreneu, 6-1, 6-1

#4 - Jordan Butler (USU) def. Kenny Lindley, 6-4, 6-0

#5 - Dallas Mudrow (WSU) def. Steve Peterson, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6

#6 - Daniel Abeaboeru (WSU) def. Sam Harris, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0

Doubles

#1 - Madersbacher/Thomas (USU) def. Salvato/Lindley, 8-4

#2 - Jonah Nelson/Butler (USU) def. Mudrow/Victor Blocher, 8-5

#3 - Ivanov/Bahreneu (WSU) def. Peterson/Trask, 9-8 (5)