April 28, 2005
SAN DIEGO - The 44th-ranked UNLV women's tennis team blanked Colorado State 5-0 in the rain-delayed first round of the Mountain West Conference Championship Thursday at the Barnes Tennis Center on campus of San Diego State.
The third-seeded Lady Rebels improved to 13-7 overall while the sixth-seeded Rams fell to 13-9. UNLV moved into the semifinals for the fifth time in the six-year history of the league event.
Beginning three hours late because of rainstorms, the Lady Rebels opened the afternoon by taking both of the completed doubles matches for one team point. Gyorgyi Zsiros and Claire Smith teamed up to shut out Dasha Zhurin and Alexandra Paganetti at the No. 3 spot, 8-0, while Anne Claire Ortiz-Luis and Linda Tempelfelde clinched it with an 8-5 win at the second position over Jessica Jones and Carla Pallares. The match on court one was then halted.
In singles play, 28th-ranked Elena Gantcheva quickly improved to 30-5 overall with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Dasha Zhurin at the top spot. The MWC Freshman of the Year is now tied for eighth with Diana Chavez (1990) on UNLV's single-season victories list.
Zsiros made it 3-0 with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Emily Kirchem at the second position. Zsiros, who yesterday became only the second Lady Rebel in history to be named all-conference four times, also moved into a tie for fourth place with Mary Jacocks (1987-90) on the school's career wins list with her 78th.
Then, at the same time Ortiz-Luis was earning a win on court three because her opponent retired in the third set, Sharon Marin posted a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 victory over Carla Pallares on court four to give her team its fifth point. The remaining two matches were then halted.
"This was a good way to start," said UNLV head coach Kevin Cory, who now holds a 40-14 record vs. MWC teams in his career. "We stepped it up a notch today and are looking forward to tough rematch in the next round."
UNLV will face second-seeded New Mexico on Friday morning. The 54th-ranked Lobos, who upset the Lady Rebels 4-3 back on March 27 in Las Vegas, shut out Wyoming 4-0 in first-round action.
UNLV WOMEN'S TENNIS RESULTS2005 MWC CHAMPIONSHIP -- FIRST ROUND#44 UNLV 5, COLORADO STATE 0At Barnes Tennis Center, San Diego
DOUBLES: (UNLV WINS ONE TEAM POINT)1. Marin/Gantcheva (UNLV) vs. Anderson/Kirchem (CSU) DNF2. Linda Tempelfelde/Ortiz-Luis (UNLV) def. Jones/Pallares (CSU) 8-53. Smith/Zsiros (UNLV) def. Paganetti/Zhurin (CSU) 8-0
SINGLES: (UNLV WINS FOUR TEAM POINTS)1. #28 Elena Gantcheva (UNLV) def. Dasha Zhurin (CSU) 6-2, 6-12. Gyorgyi Zsiros (UNLV) def. Emily Kirchem (CSU) 7-5, 6-33. Anne Claire Ortiz-Luis (UNLV) def. Anne Anderson (CSU) 1-6, 6-4, 2-1 retired4. Sharon Marin (UNLV) def. Carla Pallares (CSU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-35. Cindy Treber (UNLV) vs. Jessica Jones (CSU) DNF6. Claire Smith (UNLV) vs. Alexandra Paganetti (CSU) DNF
