April 26, 2007
COLORADO SPRINGS - Despite seeing its conference co-player of the year upset in singles, the 56th-ranked UNLV women's tennis team began its quest for the Mountain West Conference tournament title on Thursday with a tough 4-2 victory over Utah in quarterfinal action at the Air Force Academy.
The Lady Rebels, seeded third, improved to 18-6 overall with their second win over the Utes in the last two weeks. Sixth-seeded Utah, which was playing its final match under head coach Megan Dorny, who is resigning for family reasons, finished the season at 13-11.
UNLV improved its all-time record in the MWC event to 14-5 under eighth-year head coach Kevin Cory and his Lady Rebels now have the second-most overall wins by the program in a season since 1992. The program has now reached at least the tournament's semifinal round for six straight years.
Playing in cool Rocky Mountain conditions, UNLV began the morning by taking two of three matches in a spirited doubles session for one team point. Alisa Razina and Claire Smith were done first with an 8-2 victory on court three over Emily Kwok and Cheyenne Reveche. With the victory, Smith moved all alone into third place at the school with 70 career doubles wins.
Utah, however, came back to win the match at No. 2 in a tiebreaker 9-8 (7-2). With all eyes at the top position, junior Elena Gantcheva and freshman Kristina Nedeltcheva rallied to down Elizabeth Ferris and Leigh Walsh 9-7 to secure the point for UNLV. The Lady Rebel duo, ranked 20th, raised its record to a stunning 22-2 this season as UNLV won the doubles point for the 11th straight match and for the 22nd time in 24 outings this year.
Moving to singles play, the Utes struck first when Kwok raced by Nedeltcheva at No. 2 by the score of 6-2, 6-1. Smith finished off Karine Bourdages 6-3, 7-6 on court six and then Nikol Dimitrova won her match over Leigh Walsh at No. 3 in three sets, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, to give UNLV a 3-1 advantage.
At the top spot, Ferris improved her season record to 31-6 overall by upending Gantcheva 7-5, 6-3, and handing the MWC Co-MVP a rare loss at the hands of a conference foe.
Senior Linda Tempelfelde would then clinch it for the Lady Rebels at No. 4 when she outlasted Andrea Maughan 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. UNLV's Razina was winning 5-3 in the deciding set in the remaining match when it was halted.
"I tip my cap to Coach Dorny who had her team well-prepared and fighting hard today," Cory said. "She did a great job at Utah and really took them to another level. We wish her well in the future."
The Lady Rebels will face second-seeded and 38th-ranked TCU in a Friday semifinal match beginning at 9 a.m. PT. Live scoring will be available at www.themwc.com.
The Horned Frogs downed UNLV 5-2 during their regular-season meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 1. The winner moves on to Saturday's championship match with an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line.
"Today took us one step closer to our goal of winning the conference championship," Cory said. "We certainly have another big challenge facing us in the next round."
UNLV WOMEN'S TENNIS RESULTS2007 MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS#56 UNLV 4, UTAH 2At AFA Outdoor Tennis Facility, Colorado Springs
DOUBLES: (UNLV EARNS ONE TEAM POINT)1. #20 Gantcheva/Nedeltcheva (UNLV) def. Ferris/Walsh (UU) 9-72. Reveche/Kwok (UU) def. Dimitrova/Tempelfelde (UNLV) 9-83. Smith/Razina (UNLV) def. Bourdages/Maughan (UU) 8-2
SINGLES: (UNLV EARNS THREE TEAM POINTS)1. Elizabeth Ferris (UU) def. #66 Elena Gantcheva (UNLV) 7-5, 6-32. Emily Kwok (UU) def. Kristina Nedeltcheva (UNLV) 6-2, 6-13. Nikol Dimitrova (UNLV) def. Leigh Walsh (UU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-34. Linda Tempelfelde (UNLV) def. Andrea Maughan (UU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-35. Alisa Razina (UNLV) vs. Cheyenne Reveche (UU) DNF6. Claire Smith (UNLV) def. Karine Bourdages (UU) 6-3, 7-6
