March 4, 2007

LAS VEGAS - The 34th-ranked UNLV women's tennis team fought off a strong challenge from unranked Boston College and won 6-1 in a neutral-site match that was played in conjunction with Sunday's Tennis Channel Open finals at the Darling Tennis Center.

The Lady Rebels improved to 10-2 overall while the Eagles fell to 3-5. UNLV started the day by taking two of three doubles matches for one team point. However, BC's top tandem did upset the Lady Rebels' 26th-ranked and previously unbeaten duo of Elena Gantcheva and Kristina Nedeltcheva (11-1) by the score of 8-1.

In singles play, 85th-ranked Nedeltcheva rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Dasha Cherkasova at the No. 2 spot. The UNLV freshman improved to a team-leading 10-1 in dual matches and 14-3 overall in her rookie campaign.

Also winning in straight sets for the Lady Rebels was Linda Tempelfelde at No. 5, 6-1, 6-3, and Alisa Razina on court six, 6-1, 6-4. UNLV got its final two points in comeback fashion. Gantcheva rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory at the top spot while Nikol Dimitrova lost her first set before storming back for a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 win.

"This was another good win for our program," UNLV head coach Kevin Cory said. "Boston College was very competitive today and it feels good to come away with a 6-1 victory. Now we need to regroup as we look forward to our first match away from Las Vegas against a powerful opponent."

The Lady Rebels' brief road trip will see them travel to 18th-ranked Pepperdine on Friday.

UNLV WOMEN'S TENNIS RESULTS#34 UNLV 6, BOSTON COLLEGE 1At Darling Tennis Center, Las Vegas
DOUBLES: (UNLV EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)1. Cherkasov/Sullivan (BC) def. #26 Gantcheva/Nedeltcheva (UNLV) 8-12. Dimitrova/Tempelfelde (UNLV) def. Cash/Delaney (BC) 8-43. #56 Razina/Smith (UNLV) def. Gia Nafarrete/Krasnopolsky (BC) 8-6
SINGLES: (UNLV EARNS FIVE TEAM POINTS)1. Elena Gantcheva (UNLV) def. Lana Krasnopolsky (BC) 4-6, 6-1, 6-22. #85 Kristina Nedeltcheva (UNLV) def. Dasha Cherkasova (BC) 6-1, 6-13. Nikol Dimitrova (UNLV) def. Alina Sullivan (BC) 1-6, 6-1, 6-24. Lauren Cash (BC) def. Claire Smith (UNLV) 6-1, 6-35. Linda Tempelfelde (UNLV) def. Brittany Delaney (BC) 6-1, 6-36. Alisa Razina (UNLV) def. Sara Svoboda (BC) 6-1, 6-4