Nov. 1, 2005

LAS VEGAS - Super sophomore Elena Gantcheva will become the first UNLV women's tennis player in more than a decade to compete in the elite ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships with a first-round match Thursday at the Racquet Club of Columbus, Ohio.

Gantcheva, ranked 24th in the preseason, has turned in a second consecutive spectacular fall tournament season. Her 14-3 autumn record includes two individual titles and an eye-popping 11 wins over ranked opponents, including upsetting the nation's top-ranked player, Florida's Jennifer Magley last month.

The only previous Lady Rebel to play in the national indoor tournament was three-time All-American Marianne Vallin, who as a freshman in February of 1994 beat three top-20 players in reaching the semifinals before falling to the event's top seed.

Gantcheva earned an automatic bid to this week's tournament by winning the consolation draw of the Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Tennis Championships on Oct. 9. She will begin the four-day event vs. 70th-ranked Dominika Dieskova of Oregon, who received an at-large bid. The winner of that match will take on the winner of fourth-ranked Robin Stephenson of Alabama and 27th-ranked Catrina Thompson of Notre Dame in Friday's second ro