Oct. 8, 2005

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. - UNLV super sophomore Elena Gantcheva shocked the nation's sixth-ranked player on Saturday and moved into the consolation singles final of the 2005 Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Tennis Championships.

Gantcheva, 8-2 overall and ranked 24th nationally, blew by Georgia's Shadisha Robinson 6-3, 6-2 to advance.

Since losing in the first round of the main draw on Thursday, Gantcheva has upset three consecutive higher-ranked opponents. Now the native of Sofia, Bulgaria, will have a chance to post the biggest win in school history in Sunday's championship match vs. No. 1 Jennifer Magley of powerhouse Florida. Magley rallied to upend Pepperdine's 18th-ranked Bianca Dulgheru 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 in her semifinal.

"This was another fantastic victory for Elena and UNLV tennis," UNLV head coach Kevin Cory said. "This could be the deepest any Lady Rebel has ever gone in this tournament and Elena has given herself a chance to make history vs. college tennis' best player."

For the second day in a row, Gantcheva, who improved to 13-2 overall at this elite event during her two-year career, avenged a previous home loss. Back on January 15, Robinson, then ranked 10th, downed then-No. 21 Gantcheva 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of UNLV's Freeman Invitational at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.