UNLV women fall short in tennis final

The top-seeded UNLV women's tennis team lost to No. 29 Texas Christian 4-1 Saturday in the finals of the Mountain West Conference Championships in Albuquerque, N.M.

The defending champion Rebels (20-7), ranked 42nd, had their 13-match winning streak snapped by the team they beat in last year's MWC final. TCU (16-10) will get the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, and UNLV will have to hope for an at-large berth when the field is announced Tuesday.

The Horned Frogs took two of three matches for a tightly contested doubles point, then won three of four singles matches to get the win. Play then was stopped in the Nos. 1 and 4 singles contests.

Anna Maskaljun got UNLV's point with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Idunn Hertzberg at No. 5 singles

"Hats off to TCU -- they played a great match today and are very deserving of their high national ranking," UNLV coach Kevin Cory said. "I'm very proud of how well we competed, not only here but also during the conference season.

"Winning the regular-season championship and finishing as runner-up here are good accomplishments for this program and for UNLV athletics."

• UNLV BASEBALL -- At Air Force Academy, Colo., the Rebels belted six home runs and scored in all but one inning to beat Air Force 20-13 in a Mountain West Conference game.

UNLV (21-21, 6-8 MWC) got its first road win of the season, with the Falcons (14-25, 3-8) allowing homers from Bryan Resnick, Jarred Frierson, Ryan Thornton, Rance Roundy, Joe DiMaggio and Kyle Kretchmer. Frierson's was a three-run blast in the ninth inning, followed by Roundy's two-run shot to cap the offensive outburst.

Anthony Morel had a three-run double for the Rebels.

• UNLV SOFTBALL -- At Albuquerque, N.M., the Rebels closed out New Mexico early, posting a 12-1 victory on the 10-run rule in five innings.

Marissa Nichols had a third-inning grand slam to highlight UNLV's 14-hit attack, and Kendall Fearn went 2-for-3, belting a two-run homer in the first inning.

Brittany Meade was 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored, notching an RBI double in the second inning and a two-run single in the fourth inning to make the score 11-1.

Ashli Holland ended the scoring barrage with a fifth-inning RBI sacrifice fly for UNLV (28-17, 4-6 Mountain West Conference).

Starter Jessica O'Connor allowed one run on four hits and two walks, with two strikeouts.

• CSN BASEBALL -- At Price, Utah, the College of Southern Nevada split its doubleheader with Eastern Utah, winning the second game 17-0 after taking a 4-1 loss in the opener.

In the opener, starter Joe Robinson allowed all four runs (three earned) but also had 10 strikeouts and just one walk in 4 2/3 innings for the Coyotes (36-16, 28-8 Scenic West Athletic Conference).

Remington Wilson went 3-for-3 with a three-run homer in the second game. The Coyotes also got solo homers from Marvin Campbell and Trevor Kirk in a game shortened to four innings by rain.

• CSN SOFTBALL -- At Ephraim, Utah, the Coyotes lost to Snow College 4-3 in a game shortened to five innings by rain, and the second game of their doubleheader was canceled.

In the opener, CSN (31-19, 26-15 Scenic West)) scored twice in the top of the sixth before the game was called, so the score reverted back to the last completed inning.