Oct. 18, 2009

LAS VEGAS - UNLV senior star Kristina Nedeltcheva came close but could not win her school's second-ever ITA regional singles championship Sunday, falling in three sets to 47th-ranked and top-seeded Pichittra Thongdach of Boise State at the Stacy Darling Tennis Center.

Ranked 90th in the nation and second in the tournament, Nedeltcheva was leading 3-1 in the third and deciding set before Thongdach rallied for a 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory.

Nedeltcheva saw her five-match winning streak snapped in falling to 11-3 on the young season.

"Overall we had a great tournament here and our girls really showed that we are going to be one of the powers in this (new ITA Mountain) region," said UNLV head coach Kevin Cory. "Kristina played a great college tennis match today. We're really proud of the way she played this week and both of the girls today were deserving of the title."

2009 ITA MOUNTAIN REGION WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPSStacy Darling Tennis Center, Las Vegas
SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP(1) Pichittra Thongdach (BOISE STATE)def. (2) Kristina Nedeltcheva (UNLV) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.