Senior Day Swagger.
Thank You, Molly! pic.twitter.com/IutTbF42uR

— UNLV Women's Tennis (@UNLVWTennis) April 22, 2023

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The No. 55-ranked UNLV women's tennis team finished all alone in second place in the Mountain West after a 4-0 blanking of San Jose State Saturday during annual Senior Day festivities at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.   

The Rebels won their fifth straight, improving to 16-3 overall and closing 8-2 in the league while the Spartans fell to 9-12 and 4-6. Wyoming won the league's regular-season title with a mark of 9-1.

The hosts took a 1-0 lead by taking all three doubles matches. Super Senior Molly Helgesson, who was honored before first serve, teamed with Salsa Aher for a 7-5 win at the top; Cindy Hu and Coco Zhao won 6-1 at No. 2 to improve their record to 17-0 in dual matches, including 9-0 vs. the MW; and Aura Fang and Zita Kovacs won 7-6 on court three.

UNLV won the first set on three courts in singles and those would all become the source of points. Helgesson rolled past Carolina Millan, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 1; Aher swept Rozalina Youseva, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 3; and Zhao finished things with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Olaya Iglesias on court five to up her record to 19-2 in dual matches (7-0 vs. MW).

REBEL OF THE MATCH: Helgesson was dominant during her final appearance at Fertitta, winning in doubles to help secure the team point and then improving to 10-4 in dual matches at the No. 1 position in singles.

QUOTABLE: "This was another great win for our program. I have a ton of respect for the job (SJSU coach) Chad (Skorupka) does there and it's always a battle between our teams. Molly really led the way, which was fun to see on her Senior Day. In only two years here she has accomplished a great deal. Now we put all focus on the Mountain West tournament."
-UNLV Head Coach Kevin Cory
 
UP NEXT: UNLV will open at the Mountain West Championship on Thursday after enjoying a day one bye. The event will take place at the Darling Tennis Center in Las Vegas.
 
Women's Tennis Match Results
#55 UNLV 4, SAN JOSE STATE 0
April 22, 2023, at Las Vegas
(Fertitta Tennis Complex)

Singles competition
1. Molly Helgesson (UNLV) def. Carolina Millan (SJSU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Zita Kovacs (UNLV) vs. Alba Pedrero Galindo (SJSU) 6-6, unfinished
3. Salsa Aher (UNLV-W) def. Rozalina Youseva (SJSU) 6-3, 6-0
4. Cindy Hu (UNLV-W) vs.  Jovana Babic (SJSU) 2-6, 4-1, unfinished
5. Coco Zhao (UNLV-W) def. Olaya Iglesias (SJSU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Aura Fang (UNLV-W) vs.  Lara Marco Mas (SJSU) 2-6, 2-3, unfinished

 Doubles competition
1. Molly Helgesson/Salsa Aher (UNLV) def. Carolina Millan/Alba Pedrero Galindo (SJSU) 7-5
2. Cindy Hu/Coco Zhao (UNLV) def. Rozalina Youseva/Jovana Babic (SJSU) 6-1
3. Aura Fang/Zita Kovacs (UNLV) def. Olaya Iglesias/Lara Marco Mas (SJSU) 7-6 (7-4)

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles