April 27, 2005
SAN DIEGO - Top UNLV player Elena Gantcheva was named the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year and senior Gyorgyi Zsiros became the program's second-ever four-time honoree as part of the league's awards banquet, which was held Wednesday night on the eve of the championship tournament.
Gantcheva, a native of Sofia, Bulgaria, is ranked 28th in the nation in singles with a 29-5 overall record. She went 13-3 in dual matches at the No. 1 spot and currently stands 11-4 vs. ranked opponents. Gantcheva was also voted All-MWC in singles. She is the third Lady Rebel to earn MWC Freshman of the Year honors, joining Zsiros in 2002 and Agnieszka Abram in 2001.
Zsiros, a native of Budapest, Hungary, was the only player in 2005 named to the singles team for the fourth consecutive season. She has posted a 12-13 overall record but went 5-1 vs. league opponents at the No. 2 position. She joins only Marianne Vallin (1994-97) as UNLV's four-time all-conference players.
One other Lady Rebel was recognized for her singles play as senior Anne Claire Ortiz-Luis is a repeat all-conference honoree. The Fontana, Calif., native stands 19-8 overall and was a perfect 6-0 in MWC play.
In doubles, Gantcheva and fellow-freshman Sharon Marin made up the team's lone All-MWC selection after the duo went 9-5 overall and 4-1 against league players.
MWC Player of the Year honors oddly went to two members of the same team -- Maja Kovacek and Iva Gersic of New Mexico. Kat Bushey of Air Force won the annual sportsmanship award. The coach of the year will be announced after Saturday's championship match.
UNLV opens tournament play Thursday vs. Colorado State at the Barnes Tennis Center on the campus of San Diego State.
2005 MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S TENNIS AWARDS
CO-PLAYERS OF THE YEAR:Maja Kovacek, New MexicoIva Gersic, New MexicoFRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:Elena Gantcheva, UNLVSPORTSMANSHIP AWARD:Kat Bushey, Air ForceCOACH OF THE YEAR:To Be Announced April 30
2005 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCESINGLES
Elena Gantcheva, Fr., UNLV***Gyorgyi Zsiros, Sr., UNLV*Anne Claire Ortiz-Luis, Sr., UNLV**Maja Kovacek, Jr., New Mexico*Iva Gersic, So., New Mexico*Lauren Jones, So., BYUOlga Boulytcheva, Jr., BYUAnastasia Sourkova, Fr., BYU*Emily Kirchem, So., Colorado State*Dita Hauerlandova, Jr., San Diego State*Michelle Heidbrink, Sr., New Mexico*Sofia Holden, So., BYUElizabeth Ferris, Fr., UtahEmily Kwok, Fr., Utah
DOUBLESElena Gantcheva/Sharon Marin, UNLVIva Gersic/Maja Kovacek, New MexicoAnastasia Sourkova/Jennifer Miccoli, BYUIndra Erichsen/Nina Spaeth, San Diego StateMichelle Heidbrink/Tiffany Robertson, New MexicoLauren Jones/Dolly Chang, BYUDita Hauerlandova/Alesya Vidov, San Diego State
***Four-time All-MWC selection**Three-time All-MWC selection*Repeat selection
