LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – Zita Kovacs rallied to win her match in three sets on court two to fight off a furious upset bid by Portland as the UNLV women's tennis team eked out a 4-3 victory on Sunday at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.
 
The Rebels improved to 9-1 overall while the Pilots fell to 4-6.
 
UNLV began the morning by taking a 1-0 lead by winning two of three doubles matches.
 
In singles, however, Portland won the first set on four of six courts and eventually won on three of them. The Rebels were buoyed by straight-set victories on courts 5-6 by Salsa Aher and CoCo Zhao, respectively, to set up the late heroics higher in the lineup.
 
REBEL OF THE MATCH: Kovacs, a sophomore, teamed with Molly Helgesson to win 6-1 at No. 1 doubles and then staged her key comeback in singles to down Sally Pethybridge, 5-7, 7-6, 6-2 and hand her team the victory.
 
UP NEXT: UNLV is off until hosting Marshall University on St. Patrick's Day, starting with doubles play at 10 a.m. Admission is always free of charge.
 
Women's Tennis Match Results
UNLV 4, PORTLAND 3
March. 6, 2022, at Las Vegas
(Fertitta Tennis Complex)

 Singles competition
1. Iva Zelic (POR) def. Molly Helgesson (UNLV) 6-4, 6-4
2. Zita Kovacs (UNLV) def. Sally Pethybridge (POR) 5-7, 7-6, 6-2
3. Neli Sunjic (POR) def. Izumi Asano (UNLV) 7-6, 6-3
4. Rimona Rouf (POR) def. Cindy Hu (UNLV) 6-1, 6-7, 6-2
5. Salsa Aher (UNLV) def. Marija Elenova (POR) 6-2, 6-1
6. CoCo Zhao (UNLV) def. Aleks Dimitrijevic (POR) 6-3, 6-3
 
 Doubles competition
1. Molly Helgesson/Zita Kovacs (UNLV) def. Iva Zelic/Neli Sunjic (POR) 6-1
2. Sally Pethybridge/Rimona Rouf (POR) def. Cindy Hu/Izumi Asano (UNLV) 6-1
3. CoCo Zhao/Aura Fang (UNLV) def. Angela Schuster/Aleks Dimitrijevic (POR) 6-3
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,6,3,1,4,2)