Mid-American Conference

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYER AND DOUBLES TEAM OF THE WEEK
 
MAC Women’s Singles Tennis Player of the Week
Chantal Martinez Blanco, Buffalo – Junior, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Buffalo junior Chantal Martinez Blanco won both of her matches during the Spring break trip this past week. On Saturday, she played at second singles and defeated Christi Woodson of College of Charleston, 6-3, 6-2, helping the Bulls to their first ever win over the College of Charleston.  Martinez Blanco then moved up to first singles against South Carolina State where she came away with a straight-sets win over Andjela Vasic, 6-1, 7-5. Buffalo went on to beat South Carolina State, 7-0, as they improved to 7-3 on the year.
 
Additional Women’s Singles Nominees:
Rita Pedroso, Akron – Sophomore, Porto, Portugal (Escola Secundaria)
Akron sophomore Rita Pedroso claimed two wins at No. 1 singles on March 15.  Against Youngstown State, Pedroso battled Noelly Longi Nsimba to a 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory.  Later that day, Pedroso swept La Salle’s Tiffany Theophil in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0, helping the Zips to a 7-0 shutout. Pedroso stands 10-13 overall and 8-10 in singles action this spring.  She has won five of her last six singles matches.
 
Marharita-Sophia Tavpash, Bowling Green – Sophomore, Lviv, Ukraine (Lviv Linguistic Gymnasium)
Bowling Green sophomore Marharita-Sophia Tavpash faced an Ohio State opponent ranked 61st in the nation last Tuesday on the road. Tavpash was able to narrow her opponent's lead from the first to second sets, but fell by scores of 6-1, 6-3 at her first time competing at the No. 2 spot in the lineup this season. Against UIC, Tavpash was able to come back from being down 1-0 in both of her sets, leading to an eventual straight set victory of 6-3, 6-3. The sophomore's point was Bowling Green's fourth of the day, sealing the victory over UIC. After earning a first set win of 6-3 against Wright State on Saturday, Tavpash faced a third set against her opponent after dropping the second set 6-4. She then led outright after going up 1-0 for an eventual 6-1 victory and point for the Bowling Green squad, helping the Falcons remain undefeated at home this season.
 
Ani Gogvadze, Eastern Michigan – Senior, Tbilisi, Georgia (Khikhani)
Eastern Michigan senior Ani Gogvadze finished up the non-conference portion of the 2018 season with yet another 2-0 week as the Eagles' No. 1 singles player. The senior helped EMU defeat Oakland with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win, and followed it up by gutting out a victory over Detroit Mercy, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5. Gogvadze is an impressive 12-4 in 2017-18 and is 11-0 since dual play began in 2018. She has helped Eastern reach the 10-win plateau for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign.
 
Maria Potsi, Northern Illinois – Freshman, Athens, Greece
Northern Illinois freshman Maria Potsi won all three of her matches last week for the NIU women’s tennis team and is currently riding a four-match winning streak heading into conference play this weekend. Potsi opened the week with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Southern Miss’ Tanit Lopez Lopez at No. 3 singles. She rallied from a 2-6 first set loss to defeat Alejandra Vidal of Bethune-Cookman, 6-3, 6-0 at No. 3 singles. Potsi closed out her undefeated week with a 6-0, 6-4 win at No. 2 singles as she helped NIU defeat Florida A&M, 5-2.
 
Thalita Rodrigues, Toledo – Junior, Brasilia, Brazil (Instituto de Educacao Guiness)
Toledo junior Thalita Rodrigues rallied during her No. 5 singles match in Toledo’s 6-1 over UIC on Saturday, March 17 to secure the Rockets’ final point of the day. Rodrigues lost her first set 4-6 and was down 5-1 in the second before she forced a match tiebreak after coming back to win 7-6. In the tiebreak, she continued to rally and won 10-8. The win was Rodrigues’ third in a row and improved her singles record to 4-2. Her effort helped Toledo improve its record to 10-3 and establish a three-match winning streak heading into conference play.
 
 
MAC Women’s Tennis Doubles Team of the Week
Dee Dee Leenabanchong, Toledo – Sophomore, Bangkok, Thailand (Suphanburi Sports School)
Colleen O’Brien, Toledo – Senior, Ann Arbor, Mich. (Father Gabriel Richard H.S.)
Toledo sophomore Dee Dee Leenabanchong and senior Colleen O’Brien extended their perfect doubles record to 11-0 this season after helping Toledo top UIC in a 6-1 win on Saturday, March 17. Toledo clinched the doubles point thanks in part to O’Brien and Leenabanchong’s 6-0 sweep in the No. 2 spot. The pair have only faced two tiebreakers through 11 doubles matches and have never lost the first set. With the win, the Rockets are now 10-3 on the year and have established a three-match winning streak.

Additional Women’s Doubles Nominees:
Rita Pedroso, Akron – Sophomore, Porto, Portugal (Escola Secundaria)
Anna Uljanov, Akron – Freshman, Schweinfurt, Germany (Olympia Morata Gymnasium)
 
Akron sophomore Rita Pedroso and freshman Anna Uljanov have registered seven consecutive victories at No. 1 doubles. On March 15, Pedroso and Uljanov knocked off Youngstown State’s Sofia Macias and Tamara Teufl, 6-3.  Later that day, the duo picked up a 6-2 win over La Salle’s Ali Snyder and Tiffany Theophil, helping the Zips to a 7-0 shutout. This spring Pedroso and Uljanov are 7-1 at the No. 1 doubles position for Akron.
 
Polina Radeva, Bowling Green – Junior, Varna, Bulgaria (Nikola Yonkov Vaptsarov)
Ayumi Sasaki, Bowling Green – Sophomore, Montreal, Quebec

Bowling Green junior Polina Radeva and sophomore Ayumi Sasaki battled their way through the No. 2 doubles match, opened with a game win to go up 1-0, but found themselves tied at 1-1 against UIC on Friday afternoon. The pairing prevailed by regaining the lead at 2-1 and led the rest of its way to a 6-2 victory. The duo then improved to an 8-4 record on the season when it downed its Wright State opponent 6-2 at No. 2 doubles on Saturday evening.

Chantal Martinez Blanco, Buffalo – Junior, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Lolade Ogungbesan, Buffalo – Senior, London, England

Buffalo junior Chantal Martinez Blanco and senior Lolade Ogungbesan in their only doubles match of the weekend defeated the top team from South Carolina State, 6-1, helping the Bulls to a 7-0 victory over the Bulldogs.