Having faced the toughest schedule in school history and ultimately won its way back into the nation's top 30 a year ago, the UNLV women's tennis team now looks to keep that momentum going in 2006.

This spring, the Lady Rebels will field a relatively small but talented roster that is paced by their first top-10 ranked player since the late-1990s, sophomore Elena Gantcheva. Meanwhile, seventh-year head coach Kevin Cory will look to replace two of his top three singles entries in the graduated Gyorgyi Zsiros (13-16 in singles in 2005) and Anne Claire Ortiz-Luis (21-9).

"You could say it's a rebuilding year in some sense because we have big holes to fill," says Cory. "When you lose two of your top seniors, you just have to regroup and get ready for the battles. However, we have an experienced group even with just the one senior coming back. The key is staying healthy and staying motivated. If we can do that, good things will happen."

Good things have already happened for super sophomore Gantcheva (31-8). The Bulgarian heads into the spring after improving her collegiate record to a stunning 46-12 with another scorching fall season that included a dozen more wins over ranked opponents.

Skyrocketing to a No. 8 spring rankings spot in singles, Gantcheva becomes only the second UNLV women's player to ever enter the ITA's top 10 and is quickly challenging the legacy of three-time All-American Marianne Vallin (who was ranked as high as fourth in 1997) as best Lady Rebel ever.

"Elena has had a huge impact on our program both on and off the court. It takes players like her to develop championship programs. We knew she had a lot of potential but when you recruit a player, until they actually get there and have results, you don't know for sure," says her coach. "I would have said there's no way to have a better fall than last year but that's exactly what she did. She beat the No. 1 and No. 6 players in the country and has the potential to win the whole thing in Palo Alto. If she's healthy at the end of the year, I like her chances."

THE LINEUP

Gantcheva returns for a second year atop the singles lineup and should also head up doubles play. After just a year and a half in town, she is just 13 wins short of busting into the school's career singles victories list and will surely vie for Mountain West Conference Player of the Year honors.

"Elena has the type of game that she can overpower people," says Cory. "She can grind people down. She's in very good shape and runs down a lot of balls. The thing that sets her apart is her tenacity and she really enjoys competing. She loves to be out there battling and looks forward to playing the top-ranked players."

A nagging wrist injury did slow Gantcheva late in the season and even kept her from taking her at-large spot at the NCAA Singles Championship in Athens, Ga. Having proved to be back at 100 percent, she now moves from an upstart freshman to a highly ranked sophomore.

"Elena has set the stage for a big spring. There's no question she's going to now have a target on her back every match. With our schedule, she'll have a lot of opportunities to play top players and I expect that she'll be up for that challenge."

UNLV's only newcomer this season, fellow Bulgarian Nikol Dimitrova, will hit town for the spring semester and should challenge for a spot in the top-half of the lineup. A former juniors doubles partner of Gantcheva's, Dimitrova is a one-woman recruiting class that should make an immediate impact.

"Nikol will be a huge addition this spring," Cory says. "We expect her to have a great collegiate career."

The fortunes of UNLV's other top recruit a year ago took a different path than Gantcheva because of back injuries, but now looks to live up to her potential. When on the court, Sharon Marin (6-14) showed flashes of her top game last year but struggled to close out matches at the third and fourth spots.

"Sharon has struggled with injuries but we feel talent-wise she is one our best players," says Cory "She has the type of game that can be dominant. The key for her is getting back into match-shape. Once she gets over that barrier, the sky is the limit."

The team's lone senior is Cindy Treber (16-10), who was a sparkling 9-3 at the No. 5 spot a year ago. Looking to move up toward the top-half of the lineup for the first time, a 5-2 fall mark further emphasized that Treber seems to be peaking as she embraces her role as the program's elder stateswoman.

"Cindy has had an outstanding career here. I look at her as a warrior out on the court and she has become very tough to beat. She's improved every year here and I don't see why that won't happen again. She really wants to win for the team and for the school and has a lot of pride in being a Rebel. She carries that banner on and off the court and that rubs off on her teammates."

Another steady performer who may move up in the lineup is junior Claire Smith (17-11) who was 14-6 in dual matches at Nos. 5-6 in '05.

"Claire had another solid year and she is one our strongest doubles players," Cory says. "She has a good serve and you really have to play well to beat her. She works hard every day and is one of those players that you love to have on your team."

Having seen limited time in a deep lineup after transferring in last year, Linda Tempelfelde (6-4) will get the opportunity to show why she was an NAIA All-American at Oklahoma Christian.

"Linda is very athletic and talented. She was a good addition for us and has already contributed quite a bit. We expect this to be a breakthrough year for her and we will need her to be a big contributor."

Rounding out the group is veteran Mery Constanti (4-3) who did not appear in a dual match last spring but brings a 17-12 career record to the singles lineup.

"Mery has done some good things in doubles and this year we are looking for her to step up as a junior and be able to count on her in singles as well."

THE SCHEDULE

After fighting through the toughest schedule in school history a year ago, another impressive slate of opponents awaits UNLV in '06.

"Last year we went toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in college tennis and this season brings another challenging schedule," says Cory. "One of the reasons we got the at-large bid to the NCAA was the schedule we played. We try to position ourselves vs. the best teams in the country."

A late-January four-match homestand begins the dual-match season before a formidable trip to Stanford and Cal poses a huge test.

"We'll try to get off to a good start and see where the team is at and then go play two top-five teams in Stanford and Cal. That's both a great challenge and great opportunity for us."

The Lady Rebel Classic concludes the February slate with a field featuring multiple ranked teams.

Two key interregional matchups with Michigan and then Oklahoma close out the non-conference schedule before the Lady Rebels host MWC rivals BYU, Utah and San Diego State to complete the month of March. UNLV will take on Wyoming, Air Force and Colorado State in San Diego and then league newcomer TCU and New Mexico in Albuquerque.

All nine MWC teams will reconvene in San Diego for the annual championship tournament on April 27-29.

"We're comfortable playing in San Diego," says Cory, who has two MWC tourney titles under his belt. "We know our way around the courts and feel pretty good about being there. But the Mountain West will be deeper than it's ever been. We should have five teams ranked in the top 50 or so this year, which has never happened. This conference just keeps getting stronger. If I had to predict, this year on paper we'd be in the three-to-five range, but we also have the type of team that can really surprise people."