Feb. 24, 2007
LAS VEGAS - The 39th-ranked UNLV women's tennis team won the doubles point but was then shut out the rest of the day in falling to No. 18 Fresno State 6-1 at the Fertitta Tennis Complex on Saturday.
The Lady Rebels, who still boast their best record after eight matches in school history, dropped to 7-1, while the Bulldogs, who have three ranked singles players in the lineup, improved to 5-2.
Things started out well for the hosts, who took two of three doubles matches for a 1-0 lead. After Fresno State quickly won on court three, the duo of Nikol Dimitrova and Linda Tempelfelde put away Anastasia Petukhova and Vanessa Heroux at No. 2 by the score of 8-3. With all eyes on the top spot, 26th-ranked Elena Gantcheva and Kristina Nedeltcheva outlasted Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe 8-6.
The powerful Bulldogs rallied, however, in singles play, dropping only one set in six matches. At the top position, Gloria, ranked second nationally, easily broke Gantcheva's seven-match winning streak, 6-1, 6-0. In the only matchup of ranked players, No. 92 Renata Kucerkova defeated No. 80 Kristina Nedeltcheva 6-2, 6-1 on court two. UNLV senior Linda Tempelfelde came the closest to winning her match, falling in a third-set super-tiebreaker at No. 5.
UNLV wraps up the key weekend of non-conference play by hosting No. 31 Florida International on Sunday beginning at 10 a.m. PST. Admission is free. FIU upset No. 26 Long Beach State on Saturday by the score of 4-3.
UNLV WOMEN'S TENNIS RESULTS#18 FRESNO STATE 6, #39 UNLV 1At Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas
DOUBLES: (UNLV EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)1. #26 Gantcheva/Nedeltcheva (UNLV) def. Gloria/Rowe (FS) 8-62. Dimitrova/Tempelfelde (UNLV) def. Petukhova/Heroux (FS) 8-33. Kucerkova/Beatty (FS) def. #56 Razina/Smith (UNLV) 8-3
SINGLES: (FS EARNS SIX TEAM POINTS)1. #2 Melanie Gloria (FS) def. Elena Gantcheva (UNLV) 6-1, 6-02. #92 Renata Kucerkova (FS) def. #80 Kristina Nedeltcheva (UNLV) 6-2, 6-13. #70 Anastasia Petukhova (FS) def. Nikol Dimitrova (UNLV) 7-5, 6-34. Tinesta Rowe (FS) def. Claire Smith (UNLV) 6-2, 6-15. Vanessa Heroux (FS) def. Linda Tempelfelde (UNLV) 7-6, 3-6, 1-0 (10-6)6. Danon Beatty (FS) def. Alisa Razina (UNLV) 7-6, 6-4
