Box Score MALIBU, Calif. - Youssef Kadiri became the first player in Nevada Men's Tennis history to qualify for an NCAA Individual Championships. Meanwhile, Kadiri and Hammond will play in a winner-take-all game tomorrow against #13 Wright/Chang from California.

The ITA West Sectional Championships features 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams, all vying for the final spots at the NCAA Individual Championships, later this month in Waco, Texas. The top six singles players (four semifinalists and two playoff-winners of the four quarterfinals losers) and top three doubles teams (two finalists and third place match winner) will qualify for the NCAA Championships.

DAY THREE - Kadiri clinches NCAA berth, Kadiri-Hammond to play in winner-takes-all match
Kadiri became the first player in Nevada Men's Tennis history to qualify for an NCAA Individual Championships. Kadiri earned his NCAA berth through his 7-5, 6-7 (7), 6-0 win against California's Timofey Stepanov. Kadiri and Stepanov dominated their service games throughout the first set. Each player won all of their service games until Kadiri broke Stepanov's final service game, winning the set 7-5.

Set two began with a similar theme, with Kadiri winning his third service game of the set on a deciding point, taking a 3-2 lead. The set turn quickly with each player breaking the other twice, bringing the set score to 5-4 in favor of Kadiri. The set closed out with each player winning their service games, leading to a tiebreaker. Kadiri opened the tiebreaker, breaking Stepanov. Kadiri and Stepanov traded points, leading to a 3-3 tie. Kadiri won three straight points, earning match point. Stepanov facing three match points, won his two service points before breaking Kadiri to tie the tiebreaker at 6-6. Kadiri would earn another match point opportunity, however Stepanov, down 7-6, won three streak points, including one final break to win the set.

The script completely flipped for third set. One of the most competitive matches of the season turned completely in Kadiri's favor, sweeping the set and clinching his NCAA berth.

Earlier in the day, Kadiri and Hammond took on [1] #25 Carl Emil Overbeck and Theo Dean from California. The Wolf Pack opened the doubles match, winning off of a deciding point on Hammond's serve. The Golden Bears controlled the match after the first game, winning three straight games and breaking the Pack three times in the first set. Overbeck dominated his service games, making it difficult for Nevada to control their returns. Set two was much of the same, the Golden Bears took a 4-1 lead before Kadiri served a love game for Nevada. One final spark of hope came for the Pack as they faced three match points and overcame the game deficit, but ultimately lost on an Overbeck service game.

DAY TWO - Kadiri-Hammond top seeded Bruins, Kadiri through to quarterfinal
Kadiri and Hammond earned their spot in the semifinals after defeating the fourth-seeded UCLA pair featuring Emon Van Loben Sels and Gianluca Ballotta.

Each team claimed a set thanks to a huge break. For Nevada, the Wolf Pack broke UCLA in the first set, taking a lead and running with it. Nevada won the opening set, 6-4. UCLA claimed the second set after breaking the Wolf Pack for a 4-2 lead and winning their remaining service games. 

The quarterfinal match went to a super tiebreaker which the Pack took an early and commanding lead in. After a 1-1 start, Kadiri and Hammond won seven straight points, taking an 8-1 lead. The Bruins continued to fight, winning five of the next six points, bringing the tiebreaker to 9-6. Finally, off of a Hammond serve, the UCLA return went long, clinching the match for the Wolf Pack.

Kadiri took on Pepperdine's Chris Papa on Waves' home courts. Kadiri won the opening set, breaking Papa to earn a 6-3 first set victory. Three consecutive breaks highlighted the second set, with Papa earning two of them. Papa won set two, 6-3.

Kadiri dominated the third set, taking the frame, 6-1. Kadiri won the first game off of a Papa error, sending the ball long while trying to recover in the rally. Kadiri broke Papa, with the Pepperdine graduate student conceding back-to-back unforced errors in the net. Kadiri and Papa traded service games with Kadiri taking a 4-1 lead off of a forced error. Kadiri's backhand winners earned him a 5-1 lead. Kadiri closed the match with a strong service game, finishing was an unreturnable forehand

DAY ONE - Kadiri defeats ranked Husky, Kadiri-Hammond into quarterfinal
Kadiri and Hammond opened the day playing Mountain West foe Jett Middleton and James Van Herzeele from Boise State. The Wolf Pack dominated the match winning 6-1, 6-1.

Kadiri, also competing in the singles draw, played seeded Dzianis Zharyn from Washington. Zharyn, ranked 92nd in the country, kept up with Kadiri, pushing the first set to a tiebreaker, before Kadiri dominated, winning the tiebreaker and the first set, 7-6 (1). Kadiri earned a key break in the second set to defeat Zharyn in the second set, 6-4.

SUNDAY SCHEDULE
10 a.m. - Kadiri/Hammond (NEV) vs. #13 Michael Wright/Alex Chang (CAL) - Third Place Match
1 p.m. - Kadiri (NEV) vs #103 Maxi Homberg (Pepperdine) - Final

SCOUTING DAY FOUR
Michael Wright and Alex Chang are ranked 13th in the country by the ITA, they're 7-4 this fall season and have two ranked victories this fall. Wright and Chang have defeated #7 Piotr Pawlak and Sebastian Abboud (Texas Tech), 3-6, 7-6 (5) [10-8] and #86 Henry Ruger and Hugo Coquelin (Vanderbilt) 6-4, 6-4.

So far this weekend, Wright and Chang have defeated UC Santa Barbara's Conrad Brown and Dominique Rolland, 6-2, 6-4. In the round of 16, the Golden Bears beat Pepperdine's [3] Linus Carlsson Halladin and Maxi Homberg, 3-6, 6-4, [10-5]. Wright and Chang lost on Saturday to BYU's Wally Thayne and Zach Fuchs, 4-6, 6-2, [10-7]. Kadiri and Hammond defeated the same BYU pair last month at the ITA Mountain Regional.

RESULTS
Doubles Draw
R16 - Kadiri/Hammond (NEV) def. Middleton/Van Herzeele (BSU), 6-1, 6-1
QF - Kadiri/Hammond (NEV) def. Van Loben Sels/Ballotta (UCLA), 6-4, 3-6, [10-6]
SF - [1] #25 Overbeck/Dean (CAL) def. Kadiri/Hammond (NEV), 6-3, 6-3

Singles Draw
R32 - Kadiri (NEV) def. #92 Zharyn (UW), 7-6 (1), 6-4
R16 - Kadiri (NEV) def. Papa (UP), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
QF - Kadiri (NEV) def. Stepanov (CAL), 7-5, 6-7 (7), 6-0
SF - Kadiri (NEV) def. Dean (CAL), walkover