Oct. 7, 2004

LAS VEGAS - UNLV freshman standout Elena Gantcheva won her eighth match in six days Thursday to advance to the Round of 16 at the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Classic at Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Fighting off waves of cramps and dehydration, Gantcheva held on to down 29th-ranked Daniela Muscolino of Tulsa 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to improve to 10-0 in her brief college career.

"Elena had to call for an injury timeout early in the first set so it was amazing that she was able to get through it," UNLV head coach Kevin Cory said. "She got into the third set and just hit a lot of winners to close it out. It's just incredible what she has done after playing so many matches in a short amount of time."

Gantcheva, who has already beaten five ranked players this week, moves on to face the nation's fourth-ranked player, Julie Coins of Clemson, in the early round Friday. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals later in the day.

2004 Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Classic Day SixRound Eight
Elena Gantcheva (UNLV)def. #29 Daniela Muscolino (TULSA) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1