Sept. 10, 2002

LAS VEGAS - For the second consecutive season but only the third time in history, two UNLV women's tennis players have earned a spot in the national preseason rankings, which were released Tuesday by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

Sophomore Gyorgyi Zsiros of Budapest, Hungary, is ranked a career-high No. 76 after closing last season 112th. The Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year won her last 18 singles matches en route to a 29-7 overall record for the 2002 league champions.

Senior Paulina Janus of Warsaw, Poland, is ranked 79th after finishing last spring 115th. The two-time first team All-MWC selection posted a 20-12 record a year ago while playing at the top singles position.

At this time last season, Janus was ranked 41st and then-sophomore Agnieszka Abram was 80th. The only other time UNLV had two women's players appear in the preseason rankings was 1996 when three-time All-American Marianne Vallin began at No. 12 and Veronica Goude was No. 83. No UNLV women's doubles team or anyone from the Rebel men's team was ranked in Tuesday's release. Team rankings are not released until December.

"It is always nice to see some of your players in the national rankings," head coach Kevin Cory, whose squad finished ranked 20th in the nation last season, said. "We had a breakthrough season and we hope to build on it this year. Our team is looking strong at this point and if we can stay healthy, the sky is the limit."

The Lady Rebels open tournament play Sept. 27-29 by hosting Ole Miss, Oklahoma State and San Diego in the UNLV Fall Invitational.