MALIBU, Calif. (UNLVRebels.com) – A day after failing to win a match at seventh-ranked Pepperdine, the UNLV women's tennis team rebounded in a big way with a 4-2 victory over Oregon in the consolation round of the 2019 ITA Kick-Off Weekend event at Ralphs-Strauss Stadium.
The Rebels evened their record at 1-1 while the Ducks of the Pac-12 fell to 1-2. Playing in a neutral setting, UNLV opened by dominating doubles play for a 1-0 lead and then made it 3-0 after two quick singles wins. Oregon won the next two completed matches before En-Pei Huang ended things with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 triumph over Rifanty Kahfiani on court four. Star senior Aiwen Zhu was leading 81st-ranked Shweta Sangwan in the third set at the top of the lineup when her match was halted.
NET NOTES: UNLV won a match in the consolation round of the ITA Kick-Off event for the third straight year. The Rebels upset Arkansas in 2017 in Malibu and Mississippi State a year ago in Berkeley.
REBEL OF THE MATCH: Izumi Asano teamed with Connie Li for a 6-4 win on court two to help secure the doubles point and then won her singles match in straight sets over Paiton Wagner, 6-2, 6-4.
QUOTABLE: "We had battle against a very good Pac-12 team that finished 28th in the nation last season. Our team competed really well today on the big points to earn the win."
-UNLV Head Coach Kevin Cory
NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV will stay on the road with a pair of matches in Texas next weekend, starting with playing at Texas A&M Friday in College Station.
Women's Tennis Match Results
2019 ITA Kick-Off Weekend – Consolation Round
UNLV 4, OREGON 2
Jan. 27, 2019, at Malibu, Calif.
(Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Aiwen Zhu (UNLV) vs. #81 Shweta Sangwan (ORE) 6-3, 6-7 (5), 2-1 unfinished
2. #50 Daniela Nasser (ORE) def. Anna Bogoslavets (UNLV) 7-6 (4), 6-1
3. Izumi Asano (UNLV) def. Paiton Wagner (ORE) 6-2, 6-4
4. En-Pei Huang (UNLV) def. Rifanty Kahfiani (ORE) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
5. Allison Mulville (ORE) def. Connie Li (UNLV) 6-4, 7-5
6. Samantha Li (UNLV) def. Taryn Fujimori (ORE) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Shweta Sangwan/Rifanty Kahfiani (ORE) vs. Aiwen Zhu/En-Pei Huang (UNLV) 5-3 unfinished
2. Connie Li/Izumi Asano (UNLV) def. Paiton Wagner/Allison Mulville (ORE) 6-4
3. Samantha Li/Alex Kalachova (UNLV) def. Daniela Nasser/Taryn Fujimori (ORE) 6-0
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (6,3,5,2,4)
