LAS VEGAS, Nev.—The University of Hawai'i tennis team fell at UNLV, 4-2 at the Fertitta Tennis Complex in Las Vegas, Nev. on Sunday afternoon. The Rebels improved to 14-7 while the Rainbow Wahine fell to 11-6 overall. In the loss, Hawai'i's 78th-ranked Petra Melounova dismantled No. 39 Carol Yang on the No. 1 court in straight sets.
 
The Rainbow Wahine captured the doubles point, with UH's No. 3 duo of Marina Hruba and Alzbeta Houbova nearly blanking Paola artiga and Anna Bogoslavets, 6-1. The Rebels No. 2 team of Aiwen Zhu and En-Pei Huang then defeated UH's Cindy Nguyen and Klara Pribylova, 6-2 to even things up. But, Hawai'i's No. 1 pairing of  Melounova and Roxanne Resma then defeated UNLV's Yang and Cristina Moroi, 6-3 for the first point of the match.
 
UH rookie, Melounova started the singles matches by dominating the No. 39-ranked Yang, cruising to a 6-0, 6-1 victory. Melounova improved to 11-1 in dual matches—including the last 11 consecutive decisions (two matches have gone unfinished). It was her first win over a ranked opponent this year.
 
The Rebels however, won the next four straight matches to earn the win, 4-2. Both Hruba and Nikola Dolakova fell in their matches by just a break in each set. Hruba fell to Huang on the No. 3 court, 6-4, 6-4, while Dolakova was edged out by Artiga, 6-4, 7-5. UH's No. 6 Michelle Pits. UNLV clinched the match on the No. 6 court with Jovana Kenic holding off UH's Michelle Pits in a third set tie-breaker, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (3).
 
The match between UNLV and Hawai'i was originally scheduled for Saturday, April 8, but high winds in the Las Vegas area postponed the match by a day.

The Rainbow Wahine remain on the road, but travel to take on UC Irvine on Tuesday, April 11 in a Big West Conference match. The 'Bows will put their 6-0 conference record on the line against the Anteaters who are 3-14 overall and 0-4 in the Big West.

UNLV 4, Hawaii 2
Apr 9, 2017 at Las Vegas, NV (Fertitta Tennis Complex) 

Singles competition

1. #78 Petra Melounova (UH) def. #39 Carol Yang (UNLV) 6-0, 6-1

2. Aiwen Zhu (UNLV) vs. Cindy Nguyen (UH) 6-2, 3-6, 6-5, unfinished

3. En-Pei Huang (UNLV) def. Marina Hruba (UH) 6-4, 6-4

4. Anna Bogoslavets (UNLV) def. Roxanne Resma (UH) 6-3, 6-2

5. Paola Artiga (UNLV) def. Nikola Dolakova (UH) 6-4, 7-5

6. Jovana Kenic (UNLV) def. Michelle Pits (UH) 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3)

 

Doubles competition

1. Petra Melounova/Roxanne Resma (UH) def. Carol Yang/Cristina Moroi (UNLV) 6-3

2. Aiwen Zhu/En-Pei Huang (UNLV) def. Cindy Nguyen/Klara Pribylova (UH) 6-2

3. Marina Hruba/Alzbeta Houbova (UH) def. Paola Artiga/Anna Bogoslavets (UNLV) 6-1

 

Match Notes

Hawaii 11-6

UNLV 14-7

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