March 2, 2002
LAS VEGAS - The 53rd-ranked UNLV women's tennis team stormed back in singles play to upset South Alabama 5-2 Saturday to set up a showdown with sixth-ranked Wake Forest in the championship of the inaugural UNLV Spring Invitational at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.
In the second meeting between the programs and first since 1996, the Lady Rebels improved to 7-1 on the year to mark their best start since opening the 1997 season 12-1. The Jaguars fell to 6-6 and 1-1 vs. UNLV.
USA, which boasted two doubles teams ranked in the top 50, began the day by taking two of three matches for one team point.
UNLV, however, won the first set in all six singles matches and took straight-set victories at courts one through five to clinch the win. At the second position, freshman Gyorgyi Zsiros, ranked 135, upset No. 39 Viktoria Stoklasova 7-5, 6-2. Also winning were Agnieszka Abram at No. 3, Tracie Chong at No. 4, Leentjie Oosthuizen at No. 5 and Marianne Bakken in the sixth position. Down, 5-1, USA scored its other point at the top spot where Siliva Sosnarova rallied to down Paulina Janus 3-6, 6-3, 6-0.
"I was nervous after losing the doubles point," UNLV head coach Kevin Cory said. "South Alabama has the type of team that can finish in the top 20 but our players really stepped it up in singles. This was the most significant win for us since I got here three years ago and it shows there are good things to come this season."
In the other morning match, Wake Forest also overcame losing the doubles point to take five of six singles matches en route to a 5-2 win over No. 49 Tulsa (7-3). The Demon Deacons improved to 9-1 behind the nation's top-ranked player, Bea Bielik, who cruised over No. 53 Aleksandra Durska 6-1, 6-1.
In Sunday's championship UNLV will look to defeat the highest-ranked opponent in its history in the first-ever meeting between the schools. The powerful Demon Deacons have three ranked singles players and feature the nation's top-ranked doubles team.
"Wake Forest is not only talented but is also very well coached," Cory said. "We are really excited to get to play the No. 6 team in the nation at our own facility."
In the losers' bracket, No. 67 New Mexico improved to 5-6 by downing unranked UC Santa Barbara (3-9) by the score of 5-2. The final match of the day saw unranked Furman (6-2) nip Boston College (2-4) 4-3.
Sunday's final begins at 9 a.m. PST along with the first of two consolation matches, which will feature Furman vs. UC Santa Barbara. The third-place match will kick off at noon between South Alabama and Tulsa while New Mexico will take on Boston College in the other consolation match. Because UNM played Furman on February 26 in a regularly scheduled match, the Lobos and Purple Paladins traded final-day opponents.
SCHEDULE/RESULTS
FRIDAY, MARCH 1
Match One: (No. 6) Wake Forest def. UCSB 6-1Match Two: (No. 49) Tulsa def. (No. 67) New Mexico 5-2Match Three: (No. 53) UNLV def. Boston College 7-0Match Four: (No. 40) South Alabama def. Furman 6-1
SATURDAY, MARCH 2Winners' Bracket Wake Forest def. Tulsa 5-2 UNLV def. South Alabama 5-2Losers' Bracket New Mexico def. UCSB 5-2 Furman def. Boston College 4-3
SUNDAY, MARCH 3Championship: UNLV vs. Wake Forest 9 a.m. PSTConsolation I: Furman vs. UCSB 9 a.m.Third Place: South Alabama vs. Tulsa 12 p.m.Consolation II: New Mexico vs. Boston College 12 p.m.
UNLV WOMEN'S TENNIS INVITATIONAL
Round Two - March 2, 2002
At Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas
WINNERS' BRACKET
(#53) UNLV 5, (#40) SOUTH ALABAMA 2
SINGLES- (UNLV EARNS FIVE TEAM POINTS)1. Silvia Sosnarova (USA) def. Paulina Janus (UNLV) 3-6, 6-3, 6-02. (#135) Gyorgyi Zsiros (UNLV) def. (#39) Viktoria Stoklasova (USA) 7-5, 6-23. Agnieszka Abram (UNLV) def. Josien Boverhof (USA) 6-3, 7-54. Tracie Chong (UNLV) def. Andrea Kurekova (USA) 7-6, 6-25. Leentjie Oosthuizen (UNLV) def. Katarina Palenikova (USA) 6-1, 6-16. Marianne Bakken (UNLV) def. Dominika Nemcovicova (USA) 6-2, 6-1
DOUBLES-(USA EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)1. (#40) Boverhof/Nienke Scheltens (USA) def. Janus/Abram (UNLV)8-52. (#47) Stocklasova/Palenikova (USA) def. Bakken/Zsiros (UNLV) 8-63. Chong/Oosthuizen (UNLV) def. Kurekova/Necovicova (USA) 9-7
(#6) WAKE FOREST 5, (#49) TULSA 2
SINGLES-(WF EARNS FIVE TEAM POINTS)1. (#1) Bea Bielik (WF) def. (#53) Aleksandra Durska (TU) 6-1, 6-12. (#24) Janet Bergman (WF) def. Alicia Pillay (TU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-33. Katie Martzolf (WF) def. Jana Sedivec (TU) 6-2, 6-24. Maren Haus (WF) def. Johanna Zingman (TU) 6-1, 7-55. Gabriela Zingman (TU) def. Aimee Smith (WF) 6-1, 6-16. Karin Coetzee (WF) def. Zoe Buhagiar (TU) 6-0, 6-1
DOUBLES-(TU EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)1. (#1) Bielek/Bergman (WF) def. (#57) Pillay/Sedivec (TU) 8-42. Zingman/Zingman (TU) def. Danielle Schwartz/Martzolf (WF) 8-33. Durska/Mariana Barrios (TU) def. Coetzee/Haus (WF) 8-5
LOSERS' BRACKET
(#67) NEW MEXICO 5, UC SANTA BARBARA 2
SINGLES--(UNM EARNS FOUR TEAM POINTS)1. Uzma Khan (UCSB) def. Tjasa Suvak (UNM) 6-3, 6-22. Cindy Ammann (UCSB) def. Sandy Lukowski (UNM) 6-4, 6-23. Tiffany Robertson (UNM) def. Chelsea Dillon (UCSB) 6-3, 6-04. Michelle Heidbrink (UNM) Michelle Stewart (UCSB) 6-3, 6-05. Courtney Choate (UNM) def. Shiho Fukushima (UCSB) 6-0, 6-06. Rachel Hatley (UNM) def. Myriah FitzGibbon (UCSB) 6-0, 6-0
DOUBLES--(UNM EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)1. Ammann/Khan (UCSB) def. Suvak/Hatley (UNM) 8-22. Lukowski/Robertson (UNM) def. Dillon/Stewart (UCSB) 8-13. Choate/ Maria Ruiz-Fabrega (UNM) def. Fukushima/Amanda Pazornik (UCSB) 8-4
FURMAN 4, BOSTON COLLEGE 3
SINGLES-- (F EARNS THREE TEAM POINTS)1. Megan Dunigan (F) def. Allison Ashley (BC) 6-1, 6-02. Mary Kovarik (F) def. Nida Waseem (BC) 7-6, 6-13. Morgan Landes (BC) def. Mary Neill Hagood (F) 6-2, 4-6, 6-44. Amy Molden (BC) def. Natalie The (F) 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (13-11)5. Caroline Bentley (F) def. Anisha Fernando (BC) 6-3, 6-16. Ashley Backus (BC) def. Shellie Cochran (F) 6-4, 2-6, 3-2 (10-7)
DOUBLES--(F EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)1. Dunigan/The (F) def. Ruta Veitas/Waseem (BC) 8-32. Kovarik/Bentley (F) def. Ashley/Emily Hellberg (BC) 8-43. Krista Thompson/Hagood (F) def. Ashley Backus/Emily Yeomans (BC) 8-0
