April 25, 2009
ALBUQUERQUE - The top-seeded and 42nd-ranked UNLV women's tennis team lost an excruciatingly close doubles point and couldn't fully recover, losing 4-1 to second-seeded and 29th-ranked TCU in the final of the 2009 Mountain West Conference Championship on Saturday at the Jerry Cline Tennis Center.
The defending-champion Lady Rebels saw both their 13-match overall winning streak and five-match MWC tourney victory string snapped to fall to 20-7 on the year. The Horned Frogs avenged last year's championship-round loss and this season's defeat at the hands of UNLV to improve to 16-10 and earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Lady Rebels now await word on a possible at-large invitation to the national event. The field will be announced on Tuesday afternoon.
The morning began with TCU earning a quick win at the top of the lineup as the 24th-ranked duo of Macall Harkins and Anna Sydorska downed Kristina Nedeltcheva and Katy Williams 8-3. However, UNLV evened things when Nikol Dimitrova and Rumyana Terzieva upset No. 78 Nina Munch-Sooegard and Maria Babanova 8-5 at the third position. The team point would come down to court two where Alisa Razina and Anna Maskaljun were leading Kayla Duncan and Katarina Tuohimaa before the Frog duo rallied to steal a 9-7 victory and all of the momentum.
In singles play, Harkins, ranked 87th, made it 2-0 by sweeping Dimitrova 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 2 slot. Maskaljun then got UNLV on the board with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Idunn Hertzberg at No. 5. TCU earned its third point when Gaby Mastromarino rallied past Terzieva to take the first set in a tiebreaker and then the match 7-6, 6-2 on court six. The Horned Frogs earned the crown when Tuohimaa closed out Williams 6-3, 6-2 at the third spot.
The only match between two ranked players was staged at the top position. Munch-Sooegard, ranked 17th nationally, won the first set 7-5 over No. 112 Nedeltcheva before the Lady Rebel junior rebounded to win the second 6-2. The match was halted before Nedeltcheva had a chance to post the biggest ranked victory of her career. Also, sophomore Adrienn Hidvegi was leading her match at No. 4, 6-3, 4-5 over Duncan when action was stopped.
"Hats off to TCU -- they played a great match today and are very deserving of their high national ranking," UNLV head coach Kevin Cory said. "While it's always disappointing to lose, I'm very proud of how well we competed not only here but also during the conference season. Winning the regular-season championship and finishing as runner-up here are good accomplishments for this program and for UNLV athletics."
2009 MWC WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL(2) #29 TCU 4, (1) #42 UNLV 1April 25, 2009, at Albuquerque, N.M.Jerry Cline Tennis Center
Singles 1. #123 Kristina Nedeltcheva (UNLV) vs. #17 Nina Munch-Sooegard (TCU) 5-7, 6-2, 1-2 unfinished2. #87 Macall Harkins (TCU) def. Nikol Dimitrova (UNLV) 6-3, 6-23. Katarina Tuohimaa (TCU) def. Katy Williams (UNLV) 6-3, 6-24. Adrienn Hidvegi (UNLV) vs. Kayla Duncan (TCU) 6-3, 4-5 unfinished5. Anna Maskaljun (UNLV) def. Idunn Hertzberg (TCU) 6-2, 6-46. Gaby Mastromarino (TCU) def. Rumyana Terzieva (UNLV) 7-6, 6-2ORDER OF FINISH: 2,5,6,3*
Doubles1. #24 Anna Sydorska/Harkins (TCU) def. Nedeltcheva/Williams (UNLV) 8-32. Tuohimaa/Duncan (TCU) def. Alisa Razina/Maskaljun (UNLV) 9-73. Dimitrova/Terzieva (UNLV) def. #78 Munch-Soegaard/Maria Babanova (TCU) 8-5ORDER OF FINISH: 1,3,2**Clinching match
