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Iva Zelic returns the shot.
3
Portland POR
4
Winner UNLV UNLV
Portland POR
3
Final
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UNLV UNLV
Winner

Match Recap: Women's Tennis |

Pilots Push UNLV to the Limit before Falling 4-3

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Portland women's tennis team played one of its best matches of the season, but came up short by a 4-3 margin against UNLV Sunday afternoon at the Fertitta Tennis Complex. The Pilots fall to 4-6 overall, while the Rebels improve to 9-1.

UNLV won the doubles point, but Portland's No. 2 tandem of Rimona Rouf and Sally Pethybridge won their seventh consecutive match and improved to 8-1 this spring with a 6-1 victory at the No. 2 position.

The Pilots swung the momentum with stellar singles play. After the Rebels went ahead 3-0 win wins at No. 5 and No. 6, Neli Sunjic put Portland on the board with a 7-6, 6-3 win at the No. 3 spot.

Iva Zelic then finished a 6-4, 6-4 victory at the top of the lineup against Molly Helgesson for her sixth straight win. Zelic is now 9-1 in dual singles matches.

Rouf outlasted Cindy Hu at No. 4 singles with scores of 6-1, 6-7, 6-2 leaving the deciding point on court 2 with Pethybridge against Zita Kovacs, the reigning Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year.

Pethybridge overcame a 4-0 deficit to take the first set 7-5, but Kovacs fought back to win a second set tiebreaker. Kovacs held on in the third set to clinch for the Rebels.

Portland will now return home for three matches beginning on Saturday against Montana State at 1 p.m. The Pilots then open West Coast Conference play on March 25 and March 26 against San Diego and BYU, respectively. Live scoring and video for all Portland home matches are available at PortlandPilots.com.
 
UNLV 4, Portland 3
Las Vegas, Nev. (Fertitta Tennis Complex)
March 6, 2022

Singles
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
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

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,6,3,1,4,2)
 
 
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