UNLV’s Malec qualifies for two events in NCAA tennis

Friday, May 5, 2000 | 11:40 a.m.

LAS VEGS SUN

Senior Katarina Malec has become the second UNLV woman ever to qualify for both the NCAA singles and doubles championships, as the national postseason fields were announced Thursday.

Malec earned her first career spot in the 64-player NCAA singles tournament after going 35-5 during the regular season, including 13-2 vs. ranked opponents.

The native of Warsaw, Poland, is the highest-ranked player in the Mountain West Conference at No. 29.

Also, Malec will team with sophomore Marianne Bakken in the 32-team doubles tournament. The duo, also the league's highest doubles team at No. 27, is 24-3 on the year, including 21-1 in dual-match play at the No. 1 position.

Malec, who has won 15 consecutive singles matches and 14 straight in doubles, has not lost a set since Feb. 25.

The only other UNLV woman to play both NCAA singles and doubles during her career was three-time All-American Marianne Vallin, who competed in the singles field four times (1994-97) and the doubles field three times (1994, '95, '97).

This year's NCAA individual tournaments are scheduled for May 22-26 at the Ralph-Straus Tennis Center on the campus of Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.

The news was not so good, however, for the entire women's team. The Lady Rebels (15-9) were left out of the field despite winning their first conference championship on April 29. The squad needed an at-large bid because of the non-automatic qualifying status of the Mountain West.