March 18, 2009

LAS VEGAS - Junior standout Kristina Nedeltcheva became just the third Lady Rebel in history to earn at least three conference player of the week awards in a single season when the Mountain West announced its honorees on Wednesday.

Nedeltcheva (15-7), who also won on Jan. 21 and Feb. 25, was a combined 6-0 at the No. 1 spot in singles and in doubles over the weekend as UNLV went 2-1.

Currently ranked 123rd in the nation, the native of Sofia, Bulgaria, picked up two more ranked singles wins, downing No. 122 Ana Bara of 44th-ranked Virginia Commonwealth and No. 56 Alexandra Poorta of Saint Mary's, plus another win vs. Oklahoma.

Nedeltcheva also teamed with senior Katy Williams to sweep three doubles matches at the top of the lineup to improve to 16-5.

The first two UNLV women to earn at least three league honors were Elena Gantcheva, who won four in 2008, and Katarina Malec, who picked up four nods in 2000.

New Mexico's Johnny Parkes was named this week's men's player of the week.

Next up, the Lady Rebels open MWC play vs. New Mexico on March 27 in San Diego.