Oct. 5, 2005

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. - UNLV's Elena Gantcheva was upset in both singles and doubles qualifying Wednesday at the 2005 Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Tennis Championships, but still managed to grab a spot in the event's singles main draw.

Gantcheva, ranked 24th nationally and seeded first in the qualifying draw, was stunned by No. 122 Cerna Zuzana of Baylor 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) to mark her first-ever loss at this tournament after winning 10 matches over the past two years.

Gantcheva (5-1) lost for the first time this fall but the native of Sofia, Bulgaria, still advanced because a player in the main draw withdrew from the tournament, which opened a spot for the highest-ranked entry in the final round of qualifying who did not win. Now Gantcheva will look to bounce back vs. 21st-ranked Helena Besovic of TCU on Thursday.

Following her singles match, Gantcheva moved on to doubles play and she and partner Sharon Marin, ranked 36th, fell in the Round of 16 to Fresno State's 41st-ranked pair of Lucia Sanz and Kathrin Winterhalter 8-2.