June 2, 2006
LAS VEGAS - UNLV All-American Elena Gantcheva finished with her program's highest singles ranking in nearly a decade as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association released its final list on Friday.
Gantcheva (33-9) dropped five spots to No. 17 after a first-round loss in last month's NCAA Championship to eventual national runner-up Lindsey Nelson of USC. That placement still gave the sophomore standout the highest finish for a Lady Rebel since three-time All-American Marianne Vallin ended 16th in 1997.
Gantcheva, the 2006 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, is only the third UNLV woman to finish in the top 20: Vallin did it three times, including a school-record-high 13th in both 1994 and '95, while Katarina Malec ended 18th after a run to the NCAA semifinals in 2000.
"Any time you have a player finish in the national top 20, it is significant for your program," UNLV head coach Kevin Cory said. "What Elena accomplished this year has certainly set the bar high but I expect even better things from her next year as she challenges for the national championship."
UNLV also finished with two ranked singles players for only the second time in history as freshman Nikol Dimitrova (16-4) earned her first career ranking Friday at No. 115. Gantcheva and Dimitrova, both of whom hail from Sofia, Bulgaria, follow only Gyorgyi Zsiros (112th) and Paulina Janus (115th) in 2002 as the only ranked teammates at the school.
"Nikol had an amazing spring season and it's only fitting for her to get recognized with a national ranking," Cory said. "However, this is only the beginning as she gets to play her first fall tournament season as a sophomore."
As a team, UNLV (14-7) dropped two spots to close at No. 50, meaning the Lady Rebels have finished ranked in the nation's top 50 for five consecutive seasons.
"With us rebuilding and a powerful team like TCU joining the Mountain West, if you would have told me at the start of the year that we would finish second in our conference, I would have been thrilled," Cory said. "Next year we expect to compete for the conference title. We are really looking forward to 2007."
