ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (UNLVRebels.com) – For the second time in less than a week, the UNLV women's tennis team downed Air Force by the score of 4-3 – this time on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Championships being played for the first time at the El Conquistador Tennis Center outside of Tucson.
 
The fourth-seeded Rebels improved to 18-5 overall while the fifth-seeded Falcons closed their season at 17-8.
 
UNLV heads into Friday semifinals where it will face in-state rival UNR with a trip to the league final on the line. The eight-seeded Wolf Pack stunned top-seeded and regular-season champion Fresno State 4-3 on Thursday after the Bulldogs went a perfect 10-0 in MW play. In the regular-season meeting between UNLV and UNR, the Rebels won 4-2 in Reno on April 14.
 
In the quarters, the Rebels and Falcons fought through strong winds all day. UNLV picked up the key doubles point by taking two of three matches. After AFA prevailed at No. 1, Izumi Asano and Cindy Hu won 6-3 at No. 2 and Salsa Aher and CoCo Zhao won by the same score on court three to clinch the point.
 
In singles, Aher and then Hu won in straight sets to make it 3-0 before the Falcons took the next three matches to even things 3-3. All eyes then moved to court two where Zita Kovacs battled Sydney Fitch. After each player took a set by the score of 7-5, the Rebel sophomore dominated the third set to end it, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2.
 
"Today was a great win for our program," said UNLV head coach Kevin Cory. "Finding a way to win when you don't play your best is a testament to the team we have at UNLV."
 
With Colorado State and San Diego State facing each other in the other semifinal, Friday's schedule is set to start at 10 a.m. PT. Live video and scoring is available by visiting Championship Central at TheMW.com.

2022 MOUNTAIN WEST WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP - QUARTERFINALS
(4) UNLV 4, (5) AIR FORCE 3
April 28, 2022, at Oro Valley, AZ
(El Conquistador Tennis Center)
 Singles competition
1. Vivian Glozman (AF) def. Molly Helgesson (UNLV) 7-5, 6-3
2. Zita Kovacs (UNLV) def. Sydney Fitch (AF) 7-5, 5-7, 6-2
3. Karina Chao (AF) def. Izumi Asano (UNLV) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
4. Cindy Hu (UNLV) def. Alexis Odom (AF) 6-3, 7-5
5. Salsa Aher (UNLV) def. Hailey Stelse (AF) 6-3, 6-3
6. Alex Kuo (AF) def. CoCo Zhao (UNLV) 6-4, 6-4
 
 Doubles competition
1. Vivian Glozman/Karina Chao (AF) def. Zita Kovacs/Molly Helgesson (UNLV) 6-3
2. Izumi Asano/Cindy Hu (UNLV) def. Isabella Flodin/Sydney Fitch (AF) 6-3
3. Salsa Aher/CoCo Zhao (UNLV) def. Alex Kuo/Hailey Stelse (AF) 6-2
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,4,6,3,1,2)