Rebel women to face Ducks in NCAA event

Victoria Sun

Friday, May 3, 2002 | 10:12 a.m.

The 18th-ranked UNLV women's tennis team gathered at coach Kevin Cory's office at the Fertitta Tennis Complex on Thursday to watch and listen on Cory's computer to the brackets being unveiled for the NCAA Division I women's team championships.

After much anticipation, the Lady Rebels, making their first trip to the NCAAs since 1998, found out they would be playing No. 39 Oregon in the first round at the University of Southern California, one of 16 regional sites, on May 11.

The winner between UNLV (20-3) and Oregon (13-10) will face the winner of the match between the 11th-ranked Trojans, seeded 10th, and Oral Roberts.

Upon learning USC would most likely be a second-round opponent if UNLV gets by Oregon, a few groans could be heard from the Lady Rebels.

"Going and playing at USC is going to be a challenge," Cory said. "The committee said that some of the sites were going to be tougher because they're trying to keep teams from traveling too far."

Cory, a former No. 1 singles player for Oregon, will make sure the Lady Rebels focus on the Ducks first.

No. 39 Oregon recently upset No. 23 Washington. The Ducks also were bolstered by the addition of Russian player Daria Panova, who joined the team in March.

The teams faced each other in a regular season dual match two years ago with UNLV winning 6-3.

"They're a much improved team," Cory said. "I think we have a very aggressive team.

"The key for us will be not to play defensively."

Playing USC, which finished the regular season 17-7 and second in the Pac-10 at 7-1, would be a tough task, but UNLV's season has been a lesson in unity.

UNLV began the season ranked 56th, rendering its chances of getting into the NCAA tournament slim at best.

Then the Rebels reeled off three straight wins and played then No. 3 Stanford tough before accepting its first loss.

After the Stanford loss, UNLV regrouped to win four straight, then fought hard in a 4-2 loss to then-No. 6 Wake Forest.

The turning point in the season came with a 5-1 win over then 17th-ranked William & Mary immediately following the Wake Forest loss.

UNLV finished the regular season 20-3 and won the Mountain West Conference championship, earning the automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

"We never expected to make it this year so we're very excited," said UNLV's No. 1 singles player, Paulina Janus, is 20-11. "We're proud to be ranked in the Top 20."