April 29, 2000
LAS VEGAS - Host UNLV earned its first-ever title after upsetting third-seeded BYU 5-2 in the final of the inaugural Mountain West Conference Women's Tennis Championship at the Fertitta Tennis Complex Saturday.
The fourth-seeded and 65th-ranked Lady Rebels won their fifth straight dual match by rallying at the bottom of the singles lineup. The teams found themselves tied at two after Lady Rebels Katarina Malec, ranked 28th, and Marianne Bakken won their matches in straight sets and Jodi Richardson and Tara Ferguson did the same for the 47th-ranked Cougars.
BYU won the first set in both remaining matches but the Lady Rebels rallied. At No. 6, Amy Hadziosmanovic came back to overtake Lu Oswald 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to give UNLV a 3-2 lead. Then, at No. 5, Britta Gabl rebounded from losing the first nine games and got by Dominique Reynolds 0-6, 6-4, 6-4, to suddenly give her team a commanding lead.
Needing only to win just one doubles match for the victory, UNLV got an 8-2 victory at the top spot where Malec teamed with Bakken for an 8-2 victory over Richardson and Kim Kelly. It was the 14th-straight doubles win for the duo and improved their record to 24-3. The remaining matches were halted.
BYU, which earned second place, fell to 11-9 and 5-2 in the MWC.
"They were just too good, and Malec is just unbelievable," BYU head coach Craig Manning said. "We had a lot of chances in singles but we didn't take advantage of our opportunities. Our girls just fight like crazy and I am very happy with the way we played in this tournament."
The Lady Rebels, who improved to 15-9 overall, 12-4 at home and 5-3 vs. MWC, won their first conference championship after losing in three previous final matches (1994 and '96 in the Big West Conference and '98 in the WAC). The title was also the first conference championship for any UNLV sport other than men's basketball since 1996.
"I felt we had to be at least tied at three after singles to have a chance in doubles so winning those last two matches were crucial," UNLV head coach Kevin Cory said. "The crowd helped us today and the support in the stands helped Britta come through at No. 5 to make it 4-2 our way.
"This is a big step for our program. We were working toward the conference championship for a long time and we peaked at the right time. We are playing our best tennis right now. We came together as a team and I am so proud of how these players competed and poured everything they had out on the courts.
"The players showed their true character and brought their best game to the table this week. We won some big matches over some highly ranked teams in a pressure situation and I am so proud of eveyone on this team."
Malec, who won her 15th-straight singles match to move to 35-5 on the year, was named the Mountain West Conference Women's Player of the Year while Cory was voted MWC Women's Coach of the Year.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPChampionship Match -- Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas -- April 29, 2000
(4) UNLV 5, (3) BYU 2
SINGLES-1. Katarina Malec (UNLV) def. Eline Chiew (BYU) 6-2, 6-32. Jodi Richardson (BYU) def. Veronica Goude (UNLV) 6-2, 6-23. Marianne Bakken (UNLV) def. Kim Kelly (BYU) 7-5, 6-44. Tara Ferguson (BYU) def. Urska Radanovic (UNLV) 6-1, 6-25. Britta Gabl (UNLV) def. Dominique Reynolds (BYU) 0-6, 6-4, 6-46. Amy Hadziosmanovic (UNLV) def. Lu Oswald (BYU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
DOUBLES-1. Malec/Bakken (UNLV) def. Richardson/Kelly (BYU) 8-2*2. Chiew/Oswald (BYU) vs. Gabl/Hadziosmanovic (UNLV) halted at 5-43. Goude/Radanovic (UNLV) vs. Reynolds/Lisa Khoudoiarova (BYU) halted at 4-3*Clinching Match
AZTECS GET BY NEW MEXICO FOR THIRD PLACE
LAS VEGAS - Top-ranked San Diego State won two of three doubles matches to defeat second-seed New Mexico 5-4 Saturday and earn third place at the inaugural Mountain West Conference Women's Tennis Championship.
Playing at the Fertitta Tennis Complex, the two teams split singles play with the Lobos taking the top three matches. UNM quickly won the No. 1 doubles match to take a 4-3 lead but the Aztecs rallied to take both remaining matches by the score of 8-5.
SDSU, ranked No. 31, improved to 15-9 and 4-2 in the MWC while 46th-ranked UNM dropped to 15-11 and 5-3.
Host UNLV won the league title 5-2 over BYU.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPThird-Place Match -- Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas -- April 29, 2000
(1) SAN DIEGO STATE 5, (2) NEW MEXICO 4
SINGLES-1. Ana Friganovic (UNM) def. Whitney Wells (SDSU) 6-0, 5-7, 6-32. Natalia Alekhova (UNM) def. Laura Aguero (SDSU) 6-2, 6-13. Ashley Hedberg (UNM) def. Katja Karrento (SDSU) 6-3, 6-24. Lindsey Hedberg (SDSU) def. Dominika Gerwin (UNM) 2-6, 7-6, 6-35. Katey Becker (SDSU) def. Neza Kurnik (UNM) 6-0, 6-06. Julie Chidley (SDSU) def. Nicoleta Spilca (UNM) 6-3, 7-6 (2)
DOUBLES-1. Friganovic/Hedberg (UNM) def. Wells/Aguero (SDSU) 8-32. Lisa Papi/Karrento (SDSU) def. Gerwin/Caroline Pollock (UNM) 8-53. Chidley/Hedberg (SDSU) def. Alekhova/Kurnik (UNM) 8-5
RAMS OUTLAST AIR FORCE FOR FIFTH PLACE
LAS VEGAS - Sixth-seed Colorado State won a thrilling doubles tiebreaker to squeak past eight-seed Air Force 5-4 and earn fifth place at the inaugural Mountain West Conference Women's Tennis Championship at the Fertitta Tennis Complex Saturday.
The two teams played a marathon match that lasted nearly five hours. After splitting singles, AFA won the No. 2 doubles to lead 4-3 before CSU won at No. 1 and then prevailed 9-8 (5) at No. 3 for the victory.
The Rams ended their season at 12-10 overall and 4-2 in the MWC while Air Force fell to 14-9 and 1-5.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPFifth-Place Match -- Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas -- April 29, 2000
(6) COLORADO STATE 5, (8) AIR FORCE 4
SINGLES-1. Kristel Chuntraruk (AFA) def. Amanda Bartz (CSU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-32. Heidi Auvinen (CSU) def. Brooke Parsons (AFA) 7-5, 6-13. Nadine Lynn (AFA) def. Sanja Hanssson (CSU) 6-4, 6-24. Allison Lisle (CSU) def. Julie Weiss (AFA) 7-6, 6-25. Ashley Gee (AFA) def. Bobbe Vasos (CSU) 6-4, 6-36. Catherine Sullivan (CSU) def. Kelli O'Bryant (AFA) 6-3, 6-1
DOUBLES-1. Auvinen/Lisle (CSU) def. Weiss/O'Bryant (AFA) 8-62. Parsons/Heather Shelby (AFA) def. Bartz/Vasos (CSU) 8-33. Hansson/Sullivan (CSU) def. Lynn/Chuntraruk (AFA) 9-8 (5)
UTAH BLANKS WYOMING FOR SEVENTH PLACE
LAS VEGAS - Fifth-seeded Utah salvaged a seventh-place finish by shutting out seventh-seed Wyoming 6-0 in the final round of the inaugural Mountain West Conference Women's Tennis Championship at the Fertitta Tennis Complex Saturday.
Utah, which lost its first two matches in the tournament, improved to 8-12 overall and 4-5 in the MWC. Wyoming, which went winless in three rounds, closed its season at 8-14 and 1-7.
MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPSeventh-Place Match -- Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas -- April 29, 2000
(5) UTAH 6, (7) WYOMING 0
SINGLES-1. Megan Payne-Dorny (UU) def. Melanie Roberts (WYO) 6-3, 6-02. Cassie Kasteler (UU) def. Sarah Kay (WYO) 6-4, 4-6, 7-53. Frida Karled (UU) def. Sofia Espinosa (WYO) 7-6, 6-34. Irini Kotoglou (UU) def. Shirley Mendoza (WYO) 2-6, 7-6, 6-35. Linn Ronnberg (UU) def. Angela Dossetor (WYO) 6-3, 6-26. Brooke Wilkinson (UU) def. Amanda Roberts (WYO) 6-4, 6-2
