April 24, 2008
FORT WORTH, Texas - The second-seeded UNLV women's tennis team advanced to the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference Championships for the seventh straight year by posting a 4-1 quarterfinal victory over seventh-seeded Colorado State at the Friedman Tennis Center on Thursday.
Fighting off high winds and humidity, the 54th-ranked Lady Rebels improved their overall record to 15-8 and their all-time mark at the MWC event to 13-6. The Rams ended their season at 9-11.
The morning started with doubles and UNLV got a quick 8-2 victory from Sharon Marin and Alisa Razina at the third spot. The 37th-ranked duo of Elena Gantcheva and Kristina Nedeltcheva then clinched the team point with an 8-4 triumph at the top of the lineup to improve their record to 22-8. The match on court two was then halted with UNLV leading 6-4.
Moving to singles play, Nikol Dimitrova's sixth-straight victory, 6-1, 6-1 over Lauren Strasburger at No. 3, made it 2-0. Gantcheva, the three-time MWC MVP who is currently ranked 34th, followed that up with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Hilary Tyler at the top spot to improve her senior year record to 29-10.
Laura Neal provided the only win for the Rams, downing Nedeltcheva at the No. 2 position by a score of 6-4, 6-2.
The match ended when Anna Maskaljun answered with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over Anette Pohjalainen on court four. UNLV players were also leading their matches at the remaining two spots when play was halted.
"It's always a good feeling to get through the first round and become accustomed to the playing conditions," said UNLV head coach Kevin Cory. "Now we need to step it up for a big showdown with the Lobos."
UNLV will face third-seeded New Mexico in the semifinals on Friday at 8 a.m. PT.
The Lady Rebels downed the 49th-ranked Lobos 7-0 during the regular season on April 5 in Las Vegas. Top-seeded host TCU will face Utah in the other semifinal.
UNLV WOMEN'S TENNIS RESULTS2008 MWC CHAMPIONSHIPSNo. 54 UNLV 4, COLORADO STATE 1At Friedman Tennis Center, Fort Worth
DOUBLES - (UNLV earns one team point)1. No. 37 Gantcheva/Nedeltcheva (UNLV) def. Strasburger/Tyler (CSU) 8-42. Williams/Maskaljun (UNLV) vs. Pohjalainen/Neal (CSU) 6-4 (DNF)3. Sharon Marin/Alisa Razina (UNLV) def. Kristin Stople/Sara Seltsam (CSU) 8-2Order of Finish: 3, 1*
SINGLES - (UNLV earns three team points)1. No. 34 Elena Gantcheva (UNLV) def. Hilary Tyler (CSU) 6-3, 6-22. Laura Neal (CSU) def. Kristina Nedeltcheva (UNLV) 6-4, 6-23. Nikol Dimitrova (UNLV) def. Lauren Strasburger (CSU) 6-1, 6-14. Anna Maskaljun (UNLV) def. Anette Pohjalainen (CSU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-05. Katy Williams (UNLV) vs. Caitlin Fluegge (CSU) 6-4, 2-3 (DNF)6. Adrienn Hidvegi (UNLV) vs. Greer Satherlie (CSU) 6-4, 4-1 (DNF)Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2, 4**Clinching point
