April 30, 2005
SAN DIEGO - The third-seeded UNLV women's tennis team could not overcome a close loss in doubles play and was edged 4-2 by top-seeded BYU in the championship match of the Mountain West Conference tournament at the Barnes Tennis Center on Saturday.
The Lady Rebels, who were competing in their third MWC title match in the six-year history of the league, had won their previous two trips to the final (2000 and `02). UNLV, ranked 44th, fell to 14-8 overall and 7-3 vs. MWC opponents while the 23rd-ranked Cougars improved to 21-3 and finished a perfect 10-0 against league competition with their ninth straight victory. It also marked BYU's third Mountain West tournament crown.
The Cougars, who easily beat the Lady Rebels 6-1 just two weeks ago in Provo, this time had to fight until the very end. They began by eking out a lead in doubles play as BYU won at the second position 8-5 and then fought off a match point to eventually prevail in a tiebreaker at the top spot, 9-8 (7-1) to clinch it. The final match, tied at 6 on court three, was then halted.
Moving to singles, UNLV quickly tied the match at 1-1 with a straight-set win by Cindy Treber at the fifth spot, 6-0, 6-2 over Dolly Chang. Treber improved to 15-6 in dual matches, including a sparkling 7-1 mark vs. MWC opponents.
The Lady Rebels' top gun, 28th-ranked freshman star Elena Gantcheva, gave her team a 2-1 lead with a straight-set win over No. 112 Lauren Jones, 6-2, 6-4. Gantcheva improved to 31-6 overall, which tied her with Jolene Watanabe (1990) and Anne Castaneda (1987) for the sixth-most singles wins in a season by a Lady Rebel.
BYU would even things at 2-2 with a win at the bottom of the lineup as Rebecca Pike outlasted Claire Smith 6-2, 2-6, 6-3. The Cougars then grabbed the lead for good with Sofia Holden's 7-6, 6-2 win over Sharon Marin at No. 4.
Needing to win both remaining matches to claim the title, UNLV instead got heartbreak as it couldn't win any of the day's three contests that went three sets. On court two, senior Gyorgyi Zsiros lost the first set but rallied to take the second and force a third before ultimately falling to BYU's Olga Boulytchevan, who won five of the last seven games to claim her team's clinching point 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. The remaining match between Anne Claire Ortiz-Luis and Anastasia Sourkova at the No. 3 position was then halted with the players on serve late in the third set.
"This was a great college tennis match," UNLV head coach Kevin Cory said. "It's always disappointing when you lose but we have a lot to be proud of. We were right there today with an outstanding top-25 team."
While BYU claimed the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, UNLV hopes to earn an at-large bid for its fifth-ever trip to the event. The entire 64-team field will be announced on Tuesday.
UNLV WOMEN'S TENNIS RESULTS#23 BYU 4, #44 UNLV 22005 Mountain West Conference Championship MatchBarnes Tennis Center, San Diego, CA
DOUBLES - (BYU WINS ONE TEAM POINT)1. Sourkova/Jennifer Miccoli (BYU) def. Gantcheva/Marin (UNLV) 9-8 (1)2. Chang/Jones (BYU) def. Ortiz-Luis/Linda Tempelfelde (UNLV) 8-53. Zsiros/Smith (UNLV) vs. Holden/Boulytchevan (BYU) 6-6 DNF
SINGLES - (BYU WINS THREE TEAM POINTS)1. #28 Elena Gantcheva (UNLV) def. #112 Lauren Jones (BYU) 6-2, 6-42. Olga Boulytchevan (BYU) def. Gyorgyi Zsiros (UNLV) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4*3. Anne Claire Ortiz-Luis (UNLV) vs. Anastasia Sourkova (BYU) 6-4, 2-6, 4-5 DNF4. Sofia Holden (BYU) def. Sharon Marin (UNLV) 7-6, 6-25. Cindy Treber (UNLV) def. Dolly Chang (BYU) 6-0, 6-26. Rebecca Pike (BYU) def. Claire Smith (UNLV) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3*Clinching Match
