April 18, 2009
LAS VEGAS - The 50th-ranked UNLV women's tennis team earned its first outright regular-season Mountain West Conference championship by knocking off No. 57 BYU for the first time since 2002 Saturday at a sun-baked Fertitta Tennis Complex.
The Lady Rebels' snapped an 11-match losing skid vs. the Cougars in style by winning 6-0 and recording their 11th consecutive victory -- the longest streak for the program since taking 16 straight in 1992.
UNLV improved to 18-6 overall and became only the second MWC team to ever complete an 8-0 sweep of league opponents. BYU fell to 12-9 and finished in fourth place at 5-3.
The hosts grabbed all of the momentum in the morning by emerging from a gritty doubles session. UNLV's Nikol Dimitrova and Rumyana Terzieva were off first with an 8-4 win at the third spot. BYU won 9-7 at No. 2 to move all eyes to court one where Kristina Nedeltcheva and Katy Williams ultimately upset No. 69 McCall Jones and Kristina Doerr 9-7 to improve to 24-6 on the year.
"BYU has a tradition of outstanding doubles but we came out and played with a lot of energy," said UNLV head coach Kevin Cory. "Winning that point was huge going into singles. We then got off to a great start, which we knew was important because BYU is very capable of coming back and winning four matches."
Needing only to split the six matches to earn the team victory, the Lady Rebels won the first set on four courts to set the tone. Anna Maskaljun was the first to finish with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Elizaveta Ezhova at No. 5. Nedeltcheva then improved her junior-season singles mark to 23-8 with a 6-2, 6-2 win over 116th-ranked Jones at the top spot. Nedeltcheva, playing her first year in the No. 1 position, has now won eight straight and finished 7-1 vs. the league.
"Kristina has shown a huge amount of leadership not just with her play but as a vocal leader on and off the courts," said Cory. "She's got to be at the top of the list when you are talking about who should be Mountain West Player of the Year."
The match was clinched on court four when Adrienn Hidvegi finished off Megan Price 6-4, 7-5. The team's only two seniors, who were recognized in ceremonies before the match, then earned hard-fought wins in their final appearances on campus. Dimitrova downed Doerr 6-2, 7-6 at No. 2 to push her all-time record in MWC dual matches to an impressive 22-9. Williams had to rally for her Senior Day success, winning with a third-set super-tiebreaker over Chie Hayaska, 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7), to improve to 24-11 on the year. The final remaining match on court six was then abandoned, which led to the unusual final score.
"I can't talk enough about how much Katy and Nikol have meant to this program," said their head coach. "They both already have two conference championships in their pockets, which shows what kind of players they are."
In Cory's 10 years on campus, UNLV has won two regular-season titles (including tying with San Diego State for the 2003 crown) and three conference tournament championships (2000, 2002, 2008).
"Of the five combined titles we've won here, I would have to say this is probably the most satisfying. It's a great feeling to go through conference play undefeated. It's the first time we've accomplished that and winning some tough matches on the road earlier in the season was the key."
The Lady Rebels now turn their attention to defending their tournament championship and earning an automatic NCAA bid. They will be the top seed at next week's MWC event, which will be played in Albuquerque, N.M., from Wednesday through Saturday. The complete seedings and schedule will be released Monday.
"We don't have a lot of turnaround time," Cory said. "We need to get down there and adjust to the altitude difference and get ready for a lot of tough matchups in Albuquerque."
#50 UNLV 6, #57 BYU 0April 18, 2009At Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas
Singles1. Kristina Nedeltcheva (UNLV) def. #116 McCall Jones (BYU) 6-2, 6-22. Nikol Dimitrova (UNLV) def. Kristina Doerr (BYU) 6-2, 7-63. Katy Williams (UNLV) def. Chie Hayaska (BYU) 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7)4. Adrienn Hidvegi (UNLV) def. Megan Price (BYU) 6-4, 7-55. Anna Maskaljun (UNLV) def. Elizaveta Ezhova (BYU) 6-1, 6-26. Rumyana Terzieva (UNLV) vs. Romina Nedakovic (BYU) DID NOT FINISHOrder of finish: 5,1,4*,2,3
Doubles1. Nedeltcheva/Williams (UNLV) def. #69 Doerr/Jones (BYU) 9-72. Carney/Price (BYU) def. Alisa Razina/Maskaljun (UNLV) 9-73. Dimitrova/Terzieva (UNLV) def. Ezhova/Nedakovic (BYU) 8-4Order of finish: 3,2,1**Clinching match
