Oct. 24, 2005

SAN DIEGO - UNLV sophomore Elena Gantcheva's winning streak was snapped at nine Monday when she lost in the singles final of the 2005 Wilson/ITA Women's Tennis West Regional Championships at the Barnes Tennis Center.

Gantcheva, seeded second and ranked 24th nationally, played a close first set but was defeated 6-4, 6-1 by top-seeded Amanda Fink of USC.

A native of Sofia, Bulgaria, Gantcheva saw her autumn record dip to 14-3, with 11 of those victories coming against ranked opponents.

She will get one more chance to play this fall as she has been invited to the elite ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 3-6.

"It was tough to see Elena's great run end but Amanda Fink has proved to be one of the top players in the nation," UNLV head coach Kevin Cory said. "Overall, this was another outstanding tournament turned in by Elena as she continues to set new standards for our program. Now she needs regroup and get ready to compete at one of our sport's major championships."

2005 WILSON/ITA WEST REGION WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPSBarnes Tennis Center, San Diego
SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP(1) Amanda Fink (USC) def. (2) No. 24 Elena Gantcheva (UNLV) 6-4, 6-1