TCU
UNLV
Frogs fall to UNLV in MWC title match
4/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 26, 2008
FORT WORTH, Texas - The top-seeded TCU women's tennis team fell to No. 2 UNLV by a score of 4-2 on Saturday in the finals of the Mountain West Conference Championships at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. The Rebels put a stop to TCU's 13-match win streak."The team came ready to play," said TCU head coach Jefferson Hammond. "We fought hard, won the doubles point, and UNLV just grinded us in singles. We made some interesting choices on which balls to attack on, and we just made too many unforced errors. We have to play smarter to get to the round of 16."
The Frogs jumped out to the 1-0 lead with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles positions. The TCU duo of Nina Munch-Soegaard and Maria Babanova led off with an 8-6 win over Sharon Marin and Alisa Razina, while the freshmen tandem of Idunn Hertzberg and Katariina Tuohimaa clinched the point with a 9-7 defeat of Katy Williams and Anna Maskaljun.
UNLV stormed out in singles play, winning the first three matches in straight sets to take a 3-1 lead.
Kristina Nedeltcheva ended Macall Harkins' eight-match win streak with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at the No. 2 slot, while Dimitrova followed with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Sydorska. Williams gave UNLV its third point with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Kewa Nichols at the No. 5 position.
Tuohimaa secured the only singles win for TCU with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Makaljun at the No. 4 spot. The Helsinki, Finland, native improved to 20-4 on the season with Saturday's win.
Three-time MWC Player of the Year Elena Gantcheva sealed the win for UNLV, defeating Munch-Soegaard by a score of 6-4, 7-6(0) at the top spot.
The Frogs will learn their NCAA Tournament fate on Tuesday when the selections are announced.
No. 2 UNLV (17-8) def. No. 1 TCU (20-5), 4-2
SINGLES
1. No. 34 Elena Gantcheva (UNLV) def. No. 61 Nina Munch-Soegaard (TCU) 6-4, 7-6(0)
2. Kristina Nedeltcheva (UNLV) def. Macall Harkins (TCU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Nikol Dimitrova (UNLV) def. No. 106 Anna Sydorska (TCU) 6-2, 6-0
4. Katariina Tuohimaa (TCU) def. Anna Maskaljun (UNLV) 7-5, 6-3
5. Katy Williams (UNLV) def. Kewa Nichols (TCU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Sharon Marin (UNLV) vs. Maria Babanova (TCU) 6-1, 1-6, 3-2, unf.
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 5, 4, 1*
DOUBLES
1. No. 37 Gantcheva/Nedeltcheva (UNLV) vs. No. 16 Harkins/Sydorska (TCU) 7-6, unf.
2. Tuohimaa/Hertzberg (TCU) def. Williams/Maskaljun (UNLV) 9-7
3. Munch-Soegaard/Babanova (TCU) def. Marin/Razina (UNLV) 8-6
Order of Finish: 3, 2*
*Clinching point
Players Mentioned
