LAS VEGAS – The No. 10-seeded Fresno State women's tennis team battled hard but fell 4-1 to the No. 2-seeded and No. 59-ranked UNLV Rebels on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Mountain West Championships at Darling Tennis Center in Las Vegas.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After the Bulldogs dropped the doubles point with losses at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles slots, back-to-back MW Player of the Year Pang Jittakoat quickly defeated UNLV's Molly Helgesson (6-3, 6-0) to extend her singles winning streak to 19 straight victories at No. 1 singles.
But even as Carolina Piferi and Mariya Vyshkina were still competing at fourth and fifth positions, UNLV closed out the match with wins at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 6 singles.
RESULTS
No. 59 UNLV 4, Fresno State 1
4/27/2023 at Darling Tennis Center (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Doubles Competition
1. Molly Helgesson / Salsa Aher (UNLV-W) def. Matilde Magrini / Meshkatolzahra Safi (FS) 6-3
2. Cindy Hu / Coco Zhao (UNLV-W) vs. Pang Jittakoat / Cristina Flaquer (FS) 4-4, unfinished
3. Zita Kovacs / Aura Fang (UNLV-W) def. Carlotta Nonnis Marzano / Carolina Piferi (FS) 6-1
Singles Competition
1. Pang Jittakoat (FS) def. Molly Helgesson (UNLV-W) 6-3, 6-0
2. Zita Kovacs (UNLV-W) def. Matilde Magrini (FS) 6-2, 6-4
3. Salsa Aher (UNLV-W) def. Cristina Flaquer (FS) 6-0, 6-2
4. Cindy Hu (UNLV-W) vs. Carolina Piferi (FS) 3-6, 6-5, unfinished
5. Coco Zhao (UNLV-W) vs. Mariya Vyshkina (FS) 6-3, 5-3, unfinished
6. Aura Fang (UNLV-W) def. Carlotta Nonnis Marzano (FS) 6-2, 6-1
NOTES
Fresno State (10-14) beat five nationally ranked opponents in 2023 and close the season in the MW quarterfinals for the second straight season.
Fresno State's Pang Jittakoat and Matilde Magrini were ranked No. 50 in this week's ITA Top 90 doubles rankings and await news on whether they will qualify for the 2023 NCAA Tournament in doubles in May.
Jittakoat and Magrini are now two-time All-MW Doubles Team members and earned a victory over Oklahoma's top doubles duo in this past fall's ITA All-American