March 24, 2010

Box Score

LAS VEGAS - Playing for only the second time this month, the 59th-ranked UNLV women's tennis team shook off enough rust to pull out a 4-3 victory over No. 72 San Diego State at the Fertitta Tennis Complex on Wednesday.

In what was the Mountain West Conference opener for both teams, the Lady Rebels won their ninth consecutive match overall to improve to 12-2 while the Aztecs fell to 7-7. The victory was also the ninth straight for UNLV in the series, which the Rebels now lead 14-10 overall.

It also was UNLV's school-record 14th consecutive regular-season victory in MWC play and marked the first time the program had defeated five straight ranked opponents for the first time since 2002.

The afternoon began with the hosts taking two of three doubles points to earn a 1-0 lead. Alisa Razina and Anna Maskaljun won 8-1 at the second spot to improve to 10-1 in dual matches this season while Nives Pavlovic and Adrienn Hidvegi prevailed 8-2 on court three to clinch it. SDSU won at the top of the lineup in what was a rare loss for UNLV's all-time leading doubles player, Kristina Nedeltcheva, who fell 8-6 along with partner Jana Albers to Sierra and Roxanne Ellison.

Moving to singles play, Rumyana Terzieva quickly got by Emma Coiffi 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 6 spot to give her team a 2-0 lead. After SDSU's Alicia Aguilar, ranked 80th, swept No. 103 Albers 6-4, 6-2 at the second position, UNLV went ahead 3-1 with a 7-5, 6-2 win by Adrienn Hidvegi over Roxanne Ellison on court four that upped Hidvegi's 2010 dual-match record to a shiny 12-1.

The Aztecs got a straight-set win down at No. 5 to pull closer but Pavlovic rallied after dropping the opening-set tiebreaker to down Julia Wais 6-7, 6-2, 6-2 at the third spot to clinch the Lady Rebel victory. Nedeltcheva, ranked 31st in singles, was left battling 71st-ranked Trunk at the top of the lineup. The senior from Sofia, Bulgaria, was on the court for the first time since Feb. 28 and won the first set 6-0 but ultimately fell in three sets to close the scoring.

"San Diego State is always one the toughest matches on our schedule and today was no different," said UNLV head coach Kevin Cory. "I think we played extremely well in doubles, which turned out to be a crucial point for us. Starting out conference play with a win was really big."

Next up, UNLV plays host to the second of three ranked opponents this week by welcoming former Big West Conference rival UC Irvine on Friday. First serve is scheduled for 10 a.m. and admission is free of charge.

Women's Tennis Match Results#59 UNLV 4, #72 San Diego State 3March 24, 2010, at Las Vegas(Fertitta Tennis Complex)
Singles competition1. #71 Julia Trunk (SDSU) def. #31 Kristina Nedeltcheva (UNLV) 0-6, 7-5, 7-52. #80 Alicia Aguilar (SDSU) def. #103 Jana Albers (UNLV) 6-4, 6-23. Nives Pavlovic (UNLV) def. Julia Wais (SDSU) 6-7, 6-2, 6-24. Adrienn Hidvegi (UNLV) def. Roxanne Ellison (SDSU) 7-5, 6-25. Sierra Ellison (SDSU) def. Anna Maskaljun (UNLV) 6-2, 7-66. Rumyana Terzieva (UNLV) def. Emma Coiffi (SDSU) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles competition1. S. Ellison/R. Ellison (SDSU) def. Nedeltcheva/Albers (UNLV) 8-62. Alisa Razina/Maskaljun (UNLV) def. Trunk/Wais (SDSU) 8-13. Pavlovic/Hidvegi (UNLV) def. Olivia Colman/Aguilar (SDSU) 8-2
Match Notes:DOUBLES ORDER OF FINISH: 2,3*,1SINGLES ORDER OF FINISH: 6,2,4,5,3*,1*Clinching Match