May 4, 2005

LAS VEGAS - The 41st-ranked UNLV women's tennis team is headed to an NCAA Regional for the fifth time in its history as the Lady Rebels on Wednesday learned they had earned an at-large bid to the tournament.

UNLV (14-8) will travel to Austin, Texas, to face 31st-ranked Texas A&M (15-12) on Friday, May 13. The following day, the winner of that match will take on the winner of 10th-ranked and 11-seeded host Texas (20-5) vs. Southern (14-8). Champions of the regionals will advance to the NCAA Round of 16, which will be played May 19-22 in Athens, Ga.

"This is another great day for our program and we are looking forward to traveling to play at one of the top venues in college tennis," sixth-year UNLV head coach Kevin Cory said of his third NCAA trip since taking over the program. "I am so excited for our players and staff because we've worked so hard this year to get back into the NCAA tournament. I like our draw but we certainly face a big challenge in Texas A&M."

The Lady Rebels last played the Aggies on March 11, 2003, in Las Vegas and came away with a 4-3 victory. Texas A&M, which this spring finished 8-3 in the prestigious Big 12 Conference, is led by 66th-ranked Helga Vieira and 86th-ranked Anna Lubinsky in singles and the 49th-ranked doubles team of Lubinsky and Lauren Walker.

UNLV has now earned a spot in three of the last four events and holds a 1-4 all-time record in NCAA team play. Two other Mountain West Conference women's programs appeared in the 64-team field: 47th-ranked San Diego State (16-10) was another at-large choice while 21st-ranked BYU (21-3) earned an automatic bid by downing UNLV 4-2 in the final of last weekend's league tournament.

The fields for the individual singles and doubles tournaments, which will take place at the same site on May 23-28, will be announced Thursday. Lady Rebel freshman sensation Elena Gantcheva, ranked 34th nationally, is expected to earn a bid in singles play.

2005 NCAA WOMEN'S TENNIS REGIONALS (At Austin, TX)
May 13:Semifinal#41 UNLV (14-8) vs. #31 Texas A&M (15-12)SemifinalSouthern (14-8) vs. #10 Texas (20-5)May 14: Regional Final

PREVIOUS UNLV WOMEN'S TENNIS NCAA APPEARANCES2003 -- At SeattleLost 4-0 in semifinals to Illinois
2002 -- At Los AngelesLost 4-2 in semifinals to Oregon
1998 -- At Las VegasWon 5-1 in first round over Washington StateLost 5-2 in semifinals to Pepperdine
1997 -- At San DiegoLost 5-4 in first round to host San Diego