Oct. 22, 2005

SAN DIEGO - UNLV super sophomore Elena Gantcheva survived a first-set tiebreaker on Saturday and went on to win in straight sets to advance to the semifinals of the 2005 Wilson/ITA Women's Tennis West Regional being played at the Barnes Tennis Center.

Gantcheva, seeded second and ranked 24th nationally, got by 60th-ranked Dianne Matias of USC 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 to advance and improve her record to 13-2 this fall. She will play fourth-seeded and 19th-ranked Emma Murphy of the University of San Diego in Sunday's semifinal.

Top-seeded Amanda Fink of USC and third-seeded Bianca Dulgheru of Pepperdine will play in the other side of the bracket as all four seeds held. The championship match is scheduled for Monday.

In doubles, Gantcheva and partner Sharon Marin, ranked 36th, won their first doubles match of the day when their opponents retired because of injury but were later eliminated in the quarterfinals.

In consolation play, one of three Lady Rebels advanced as Claire Smith blitzed Fenja Shaw of Hawaii 6-0, 6-0.

"Today's match was challenging for Elena and I think she showed a lot of poise, " UNLV head coach Kevin Cory said. "She was down set point vs. a nationally ranked player and stepped up and took charge to finish it out. I was also impressed with Claire Smith as she was dominant from start to finish."

WILSON/ITA WEST REGIONALSan Diego, CABarnes Tennis Center
SINGLES SEMIFINALS(2) No. 24 Elena Gantcheva (UNLV) def. (6) No. 60 Dianne Matias (USC) 7-6, 6-2
DOUBLES ROUND OF 16No. 36 Gantcheva/Sharon Marin (UNLV) def. Ashley Joelson/Laura Gordon (UCLA) 1-1 retired
DOUBLES QUARTERFINALSSilvia Kosakowksi/Merve Asimgil (PEPP) def. No. 36 Gantcheva/Marin (UNLV) 8-1
CONSOLATION SINGLESClaire Smith (UNLV) def. Fenja Shaw (UH) 6-0, 6-0Tina Razloznik (ARIZ) def. Linda Tempelfelde (UNLV) 6-1, 6-0Casey Cross (UCRiverside) def. Mery Constanti (UNLV) 1-6, 6-0, 6-1