Monday, May 20
Orlando, FL
2:00 PM PT
University of Nevada Las Vegas
vs
NCAA Singles Championship (Round of 64)
Photo by: Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos
5/20/2019 5:49:00 PM | Women's Tennis
ORLANDO, Fla. (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV senior Aiwen Zhu became only the second Rebel in history to win at least one match in multiple NCAA Singles Championships by posting an upset of the nation's No. 26 player Monday.
Playing in humid conditions at the USTA National Campus, the reigning two-time Mountain West Player of the Year got off to a quick start and then held off Oklahoma's Oleksandra Korashvili, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Zhu (Wuxi, China), who moved into a tie for fifth on her school's career singles list with what was her 103rd victory, improved to 30-7 overall in her final season while the Korashvili finished her junior campaign at 18-8.
Zhu needs to win one more round to become her program's first All-American since 2006 but will need to survive a rematch to pull it off. That's because for the second time this month, she will take on 22nd-ranked Felicty Maltby of Texas Tech who made quick work of No. 18 Christina Rosca of Vanderbilt on Monday, 6-2, 7-5. Back on May 4 in Los Angeles, Zhu downed Maltby, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, to help the Rebels stun the No. 26 Red Raiders 4-3 in the first round of the NCAA team tournament. Tuesday's match is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. PT.
"Today we saw a great college tennis match between two big hitters who both like to control the points but Aiwen played very well in the third set to win it," said head coach Kevin Cory. "This sets us up for a great opportunity tomorrow against one of the top players in the country. Aiwen has beaten her -- but Maltby will obviously be looking for revenge."
Zhu, who now has added two victories over top 30 opponents in the month of May, also won her first round match in her debut at the national event last season and joins former UNLV All-American Marianne Vallin (2-4 in four trips from 1994-97) as the only Rebels to win a round at more than one NCAA singles tourney.
REBELS WHO HAVE WON A MATCH AT MULTIPLE NCAA SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
2019 - Aiwen Zhu (1-0)
2018 - Aiwen Zhu (1-1)
1997 - Marianne Vallin (1-1)
1995 - Marianne Vallin (1-1)
2019 NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S TENNIS SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP
USTA National Campus, Orlando, FL
First Round
#105 Aiwen Zhu (UNLV) def. #26 Oleksandra Korashvili (OKLA) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Playing in humid conditions at the USTA National Campus, the reigning two-time Mountain West Player of the Year got off to a quick start and then held off Oklahoma's Oleksandra Korashvili, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Zhu (Wuxi, China), who moved into a tie for fifth on her school's career singles list with what was her 103rd victory, improved to 30-7 overall in her final season while the Korashvili finished her junior campaign at 18-8.
Zhu needs to win one more round to become her program's first All-American since 2006 but will need to survive a rematch to pull it off. That's because for the second time this month, she will take on 22nd-ranked Felicty Maltby of Texas Tech who made quick work of No. 18 Christina Rosca of Vanderbilt on Monday, 6-2, 7-5. Back on May 4 in Los Angeles, Zhu downed Maltby, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, to help the Rebels stun the No. 26 Red Raiders 4-3 in the first round of the NCAA team tournament. Tuesday's match is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. PT.
.@UNLVWTennis ➡️ Round of 32
— NCAA Tennis (@NCAATennis) May 21, 2019
Aiwen Zhu d. Korashvili (OU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3! #NCAATennis pic.twitter.com/hPxyGQOnbU
"Today we saw a great college tennis match between two big hitters who both like to control the points but Aiwen played very well in the third set to win it," said head coach Kevin Cory. "This sets us up for a great opportunity tomorrow against one of the top players in the country. Aiwen has beaten her -- but Maltby will obviously be looking for revenge."
Zhu, who now has added two victories over top 30 opponents in the month of May, also won her first round match in her debut at the national event last season and joins former UNLV All-American Marianne Vallin (2-4 in four trips from 1994-97) as the only Rebels to win a round at more than one NCAA singles tourney.
REBELS WHO HAVE WON A MATCH AT MULTIPLE NCAA SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
2019 - Aiwen Zhu (1-0)
2018 - Aiwen Zhu (1-1)
1997 - Marianne Vallin (1-1)
1995 - Marianne Vallin (1-1)
2019 NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S TENNIS SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIP
USTA National Campus, Orlando, FL
First Round
#105 Aiwen Zhu (UNLV) def. #26 Oleksandra Korashvili (OKLA) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
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