March 2, 2010
LAS VEGAS - On the strength of a seven-match winning streak, the UNLV women's tennis team made another big jump in this week's Campbell's ITA College Tennis Rankings, reentering the national top 25 for the first time in seven seasons at No. 23.
The Lady Rebels (10-2 overall), who stood 50th two weeks ago and 30th last week (team rankings in college tennis go 75 deep), have won four consecutive matches against ranked non-conference opponents for just the second time in program history and first time since 1997.
The last time UNLV was part of the ITA's top 25 was April 2, 2003, when it was 22nd after reaching as high as 15th earlier that semester. The highest ranking in school history came on March 18, 1997, when the Lady Rebels peaked at 14.
Also pushing her way into the top 25 this time around was UNLV standout Kristina Nedeltcheva. The senior from Sofia, Bulgaria, moved up a full 20 spots in singles to a career-high 25th with an overall record of 21-4 and 10-1 mark in dual matches this spring. Her recent work included upsetting the nation's sixth-ranked player from Fresno State late last month. It marks the first time a UNLV woman has been in the top 25 since former All-American Elena Gantcheva stood 23rd on Feb. 20, 2008. Lady Rebel junior Jana Albers, a transfer from Nebraska, also remained in the singles rankings this week at No. 97.
In doubles, Nedeltcheva and Albers broke into the rankings as a team for the first time at No. 54. The duo is 15-3 overall and a shiny 11-1 playing at the top of the lineup in 2010. Nedeltcheva, who was ranked as high as fifth in the nation in doubles in 2007, is already the school's career leader in doubles victories with 90 against just 27 losses. Albers was ranked as high as 30th two years ago while playing for the Cornhuskers.
The UNLV women's team is off this week and will next be in action when it hosts Hawaii on March 13 beginning with doubles play at 10 a.m.
Campbell's ITA Women's Tennis Rankings1. Northwestern2. North Carolina3. Notre Dame4. UCLA5. California6. Florida7. Michigan8. Duke9. Baylor10. Clemson11. Tennessee12. Southern California13. Florida State14. Stanford15. Arkansas16. Miami (Florida)17. Georgia18. Washington19. Vanderbilt20. South Florida21. Ohio State22. SMU23. UNLV24. DePaul25. Georgia Tech
