Oct. 7, 2005

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. - UNLV's Elena Gantcheva successfully shook off two straight singles losses this week and emerged to post a pair of impressive upsets during the first day of consolation play at the 2005 Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Tennis Championships on Friday.

Gantcheva, 7-2 overall and ranked 24th nationally, easily eliminated the nation's 17th-ranked player, Vanderbilt's Amanda Fish, 6-3, 6-2 to advance. She then upended 23rd-ranked Megan Moulton-Levy of William & Mary 6-2, 7-6, in the afternoon session. It was the second meeting between the two and Moulton-Levy dealt Gantcheva her first-ever loss in dual-match play in straight sets back on March 12 in Las Vegas.

"It's great to see Elena bounce back with two huge wins over top-25 opponents," UNLV head coach Kevin Cory said. "She is again proving that she belongs among the best players in college tennis."

Gantcheva, who improved to 12-2 overall at this elite event during her two-year career, moves on to Saturday's consolation semifinals. The championship is scheduled for Sunday.