ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV women's tennis team saw its season end just one match short of another Mountain West championship Saturday, falling 4-1 to No. 72 San Diego State in the tournament final at the El Conquistador Tennis Center outside of Tucson.
 
The fourth-seeded Rebels, who were appearing in their fifth straight league championship match, ended their season at 19-6 overall while the second-seeded Aztecs improved to 17-6 and will now represent the league in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Things looked good early for the Rebels, who earned a 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point. Salsa Aher and CoCo Zhao cruised 6-1 on court three and then Molly Helgesson and Zita Kovacs upset 85th-ranked Bunyawi Thamchaiwat and Tamara Arnold, 6-3, at the top of the lineup to clinch it.
 
The Aztecs seized all momentum in singles player, however, winning the first set on four of six courts and then closing all of them out in straight sets before the Rebels could garner another point.
 
NET NOTES: Despite the loss, UNLV has still won two more MW Tournament championships than any other team with six … The Rebels have appeared in 12 of the 21 Mountain West Championship Finals, posting a 6-6 record … This was the first time SDSU defeated UNLV in a MW final as the Rebels downed the Aztecs 4-2 to take the crown in 2002 (in Provo, Utah), 4-1 in 2013 (in Colorado Springs) and 4-0 in 2019 (in San Diego) … Saturday marked the final collegiate match for Super Senior Izumi Asano who won a combined seven All-MW honors in singles and doubles during her impressive career.
 
QUOTABLE: "I am really proud of the team and the season they turned in this year. San Diego State was very good this year and played an excellent match today to earn the championship."
-UNLV Head Coach Kevin Cory
 
2022 MOUNTAIN WEST WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP - FINAL
(2) #72 SAN DIEGO STATE 4, (4) UNLV 1
April 30, 2022, at Oro Valley, AZ
(El Conquistador Tennis Center)
 Singles competition
1. #78 Thamchaiwat, Bunyawi (SD) def. Molly Helgesson (UNLV) 6-1, 6-4
2. Arnold, Tamara (SD) def. Zita Kovacs (UNLV) 6-1, 7-5
3. Nadozie, Nnena (SD) def. Izumi Asano (UNLV) 6-4, 6-2
4. Pitts, Regina (SD) vs. Cindy Hu (UNLV) 1-6, 6-4, unfinished
5. Melosch, Alicia (SD) def. Salsa Aher (UNLV) 6-1, 6-4
6. Jordan, Julie (SD) vs. CoCo Zhao (UNLV) 6-7 (6), unfinished
 
 Doubles competition
1. Molly Helgesson/Zita Kovacs (UNLV) def. #85 Thamchaiwat, Bunyawi/Arnold, Tamara (SD) 6-3
2. Pitts, Regina/Nadozie, Nnena (SD) vs. Cindy Hu/Izumi Asano (UNLV) 5-4, unfinished
3. Salsa Aher/CoCo Zhao (UNLV) def. Morin, Cécile/Melosch, Alicia (SD) 6-1
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (1,5,2,3)