May 14, 2011

Box Score

LOS ANGELES (UNLVRebels.com) - The 39th-ranked UNLV women's tennis team couldn't pull out the the all-important doubles point and eventually lost 4-2 to No. 29 San Diego in the first round of the NCAA Championships on Saturday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

The Lady Rebels closed their season at 20-6 while the Toreros improved to 19-5 and moved on to Sunday's second round vs. the winner of UCLA/Quinnipiac. It marked the fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA event for UNLV, which had also reached the 20-win mark for a third straight year for the first time in program history.

Opening morning play on the same courts that produced former UNLV men's star Luke Smith's NCAA singles and doubles titles back in 1997, the teams began by trading 8-4 wins, which meant the point would come to the top court. Aleksandra Josifoska and Nives Pavlovic held a slim 5-4 lead but then saw 88th-ranked Juliette Coupez and Stephanie Hoffpauir score four of the final five points to clinch it for USD.

UNLV's lone win came at the second spot where the duo of Lucia Batta and Anna Maskaljun won to close the season on a school-record 19-match winning streak. Maskaljun improved to 26-8 overall in doubles, including 23-3 in dual matches, to end her impressive career in second place on the school's all-time list with 90 wins.

Moving to singles play, the Rebels quickly tied things when Josifoska swept UNLV swept Josymar Escalona at the second position, 6-1, 6-2. USD then got a straight-set win at No. 3 before Maskaljun re-tied it with a 7-5, 6-0 sweep of Maja Sujica on court six. The win was Maskaljun's 21st in her final 22 collegiate matches as she finished her last season with a team-leading 28-5 mark, including a stunning 24-2 record in dual matches.

After USD got its third point with a win at No. 3, UNLV was faced with having to win both remaining matches to claim the victory. Senior Jana Albers dropped the first set to Anna Depenau at No. 5 but forged a 5-3 lead in the second. Depenau, however, came back to win the final four games and end the match with a 6-4, 7-5 triumph. The final match, going on at No. 1, was then halted with Batta having won the second set 6-0 to force a third vs. 71st-ranked Hoffpauir.

NCAA Championships First Round Women's Tennis Results#29 SAN DIEGO 4, #39 UNLV 2May 14, 2011 at Los Angeles(Los Angeles Tennis Center)
Singles (USD earns three team points)1. Lucia Batta (UNLV) vs. #71 Stephanie Hoffpauir (USD) 6-7, 6-0, DNF2. Aleksandra Josifoska (UNLV) def. Josymar Escalona (USD) 6-1, 6-23. Laura Claus (USD) def. Nives Pavlovic (UNLV) 6-2, 6-44. Juliette Coupez (USD) def. Adrienn Hidvegi (UNLV) 6-2, 6-45. Anna Depenau (USD) def. Jana Albers (UNLV) 6-4, 7-56. Anna Maskaljun (UNLV) def. Maja Sujica (USD) 7-5, 6-0
Doubles (USD earns one team point)1. #88 Juliette Coupez/Stephanie Hoffpauir (USD) def. Aleksandra Josifoska/Nives Pavlovic (UNLV) 8-62. Lucia Batta/Anna Maskaljun (UNLV) def. Laura Claus/Josymar Escalona (USD) 8-43. Anna Depenau/Maja Sujica (USD) def. Jana Albers/Adrienn Hidvegi (UNLV) 8-4ORDER OF FINISH -- Doubles: 3,2,1; Singles: 2,3,6,4,5