March 28, 2003

LAS VEGAS - Playing through windy conditions, the UNLV women's tennis team rallied past Mountain West Conference rival San Diego State 4-3 in a key league match at the Fertitta Tennis Complex Friday.

The No. 24 Lady Rebels improved to 12-3 and 3-0 in the MWC while the 32nd-ranked Aztecs fell to 13-4 and 2-1. The win was the first for UNLV over SDSU in the regular season since 1999.

The Aztecs began the day by sweeping three doubles matches for one team point. In singles play, Silvia Tornier overwhelmed Paulina Janus 6-2, 6-1 at the top spot to give SDSU a quick 2-0 lead.

UNLV evened things with victories by Amy Hadziosmanovic at No. 6 and Cindy Treber at No. 5. Then, Gyorgyi Zsiros came back from down a set to coast at No. 2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 to earn the Lady Rebels their first lead of the day. However, Katalina Romero polished off Agnieszka Abram 6-1, 7-5 on court three to tie things 3-3.

The match came down to No. 4 where UNLV sophomore Tracie Chong rallied to force a third set. After falling behind 3-2 in the deciding set, Chong won the final four games to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 and make the hosts victorious.

"This was a tremendous day," UNLV head coach Kevin Cory said. "We have a lot of respect for San Diego State tennis and this is a great rivalry between these two programs. I'm so proud of the way we competed after falling behind in doubles. Gyorgyi, Amy and Cindy all produced big wins and Tracie Chong really came through. Now we hope to keep this momentum through the weekend."

UNLV continues conference play by facing Wyoming Saturday while SDSU will tangle with Colorado State, also at Fertitta. Both matches begin at 10 a.m.

UNLV WOMEN'S TENNIS RESULTS

(#24) UNLV 4, (#32) SAN DIEGO STATE 3

At Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas

SINGLES -- (UNLV EARNS FOUR TEAM POINTS)
1. Silvia Tornier (SDSU) def. Paulina Janus (UNLV)    6-2, 6-12. Gyogyi Zsiros (UNLV) def. Lindsey Hedberg (SDSU)   4-6, 6-1, 6-03. Katalina Romero (SDSU) def. Agnieszka Abram (UNLV) 6-1, 7-54. Tracie Chong (UNLV) def. Katja Karrento (SDSU)     2-6, 6-3, 6-35. Cindy Treber (UNLV) def. Indra Erichsen (SDSU)     6-4, 6-26. Amy Hadziosmanovic (UNLV) def. Patricia Graf (SDSU)6-0, 6-4
DOUBLES -- (SDSU EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)
1. (43) Tornier/Erichsen (SDSU) def. Janus/Abram (UNLV) 8-62. Hedberg/Karrento (SDSU) def. Chong/Treber (UNLV)     8-63. Romero/Graf (SDSU) def. Zsiros/Hadziosmanovic (UNLV) 8-3