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
Miruna Vasilescu, Akron – Freshman, Ulm, Germany (Friedrichs)
Akron freshman Miruna Vasilescu in the team’s MAC opener beat Eastern Michigan’s Marie Mayerova in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 2 singles.  In the win over Toledo, she defeated Deedee Leenabanchong, 6-4, 6-1, for her sixth consecutive win in singles action. Overall, Vasilescu stands 14-2 this spring and a perfect 2-0 in MAC play.
 
Additional Women’s Singles Nominees:
Ayumi Sasaki, Bowling Green – Sophomore, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Bowling Green sophomore Ayumi Sasaki opened MAC play at No. 4 singles by going 2-0 in singles play. Sasaki was one of three Falcons to shutout an opponent in the second set in the MAC opener against Northern Illinois. By earning straight set wins of 6-3, 6-0, Sasaki helped the Falcons gain a 6-1 victory over the Huskies. On Sunday, the heroics again came from Sasaki, as Bowling Green and Ball State were tied at a 3-3 stalemate with just the No. 4 singles court remaining. After dropping a narrow 7-5 result in the opening set, Sasaki immediately rebounded to claim an outright set win of 6-2 to force a third set. With her momentum rolling, she gained a 4-0 lead quickly in the decisive third set, before claiming the Bowling Green victory by a 6-2 final. With the win, sophomore Sasaki is now on a two-match win streak in singles play, and helped the Falcons earn its first victory over Ball State since April 12, 2013. In addition to lifting the Falcons to a 2-0 start in MAC play, Sasaki's match-deciding win against the Cardinals marked Bowling Green's 10th win of the season, doubling its win total from the 2016-17 season and most since the 2013-14 campaign. The Falcons are currently on a season-best four-match win streak and remain undefeated at home with a 6-0 record at the Perrysburg Tennis Center.
 
Lolade Ogungbesan, Buffalo – Senior, London, England (ACS Cobham)
Buffalo junior Chantal Martinez Blanco won a pair of matches for the Bulls this week as they won their sixth straight match and opened league play 2-0. In the MAC opener on Friday against Toledo, Ogungbesan came away with a straight-sets win at third singles as she defeated Colleen O’Brien, 6-2, 6-3.  Ogungbesan then moved up to second singles for the match against Eastern Michigan and she came away with a big win in the 4-3 victory over the Eagles. She overcame a 6-1 opening set loss to Marie Mayerova to win in three sets, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. The London, England native is a perfect 5-0 at second singles this year and overall, she leads the Bulls in singles action with a 19-5 record.
 
Ani Gogvadze, Eastern Michigan – Senior, Tbilisi, Georgia (Khikhani)
Eastern Michigan senior Ani Gogvadze has kept her torrid pace going into MAC play, going 2-0 against Akron and Buffalo on the weekend, while also adding a third win over Wayne State. The Tbilisi, Georgia native helped the Eagles to its first win of the MAC season with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Akron. She also came from behind to top Buffalo's No. 1, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. After EMU narrowly fell (3-4) to the MAC preseason favorite Bulls, Gogvadze helped lead the Green and White to a victory over NCAA DII's No. 45-ranked Wayne State with an easy 6-3, 6-4 win. Gogvadze is now a perfect 14-0 on the season playing as the Eagles' No. 1 singles player.
 
Emily Struble, Miami – Junior, Holt, Mich.
Miami junior Emily Struble helped the RedHawks to a 2-0 record to start MAC play with two wins at third singles.  On Friday, March 23, she defeated Ball State's Sarah Swiderski 6-1, 6-1 and on Sunday, March 25, Struble defeated Northern Illinois' Abigail Dekkinga 6-1, 6-3.
 
Barbare Eristavi, Western Michigan – Senior, Tbilisi, Georgia (GAU)
Western Michigan senior Barbare Eristavi has played a big role for the Broncos this season as she leads the team with 10 wins this spring and is second with overall wins of 12. The redshirt senior picked up her seventh straight victory last week with two victories at No. 1 against Wayne State and Bradley. She outscored her opponents by a total of 24-7 and is now 12-9 overall and 10-5 spring record. The Broncos have now two straight as a team to improve to 9-7 overall and 7-1 at home.
 
 
MAC Women’s Tennis Doubles Team of the Week
Carli Knezevich, Akron – Senior, Austin, Texas (Lake Travis High School)
Waverly Wituski, Akron – Senior, Springboro, Ohio (Archbishop Alter High School)
 
Akron senior Carli Knezevich and senior Waverly Wituski opened MAC play at a perfect 2-0 at No. 3 doubles. The pair knocked off Eastern Michigan’s Giulianna Ansaloni and Natalia Regalado, 6-2.  Knezevich and Wituski battled Toledo’s Megan Miller and Thalita Rodrigues to a 7-6 (4) victory, helping the Zips to the doubles point in both matches. This spring at No. 3 doubles, Knezevich and Wituski stand 2-2 overall and 2-0 in MAC play.
 
Additional Women’s Doubles Nominees:
Marharita-Sophia Tavpash, Bowling Green – Sophomore, Lviv, Ukraine (Lviv Linguistic Gymnasium)
Paula Comella, Bowling Green – Junior, Ciutadella de Menorca, Spain (Ies Ctieb)
 
Bowling Green sophomore Marharita-Sophia Tavpash and junior Paula Comella earned a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles at Northern Illinois to help the Falcons claim the doubles point. Doubles competition tested the Falcons against Ball State on Sunday, although the pairing of Comella / Tavpash was able to pick up a victory against their opponents. The duo rebounded from a 3-2 deficit when they regained the lead at 5-3 with three straight game wins, and ultimately persisted for a strong 6-3 victory over the Cardinals. With the win, the pairing is on a two-match win streak at No. 1 doubles, and helped the Falcons extend its win streak to four matches and an undefeated 6-0 mark at home this season.
 
Emel Abibula, Buffalo – Sophomore, Bucharest, Romania (German Goethe School)
Arianna Paules Aldrey, Buffalo – Junior, A Coruna, Spain (CIDEAD)

Buffalo sophomore Emel Abibula and junior Arianna Paules Aldrey helped the Bulls clinch an important doubles point on Sunday against Eastern Michigan in a 4-3 win over the Eagles as they came away with a 6-4 win over Andrea Martinovska and Anna Veleva.  The duo moved up to second doubles after playing the previous matches at three.  Earlier in the week, Abibula and Aldrey led their match at 4-3 against Toledo when doubles play was stopped.

Nelli Ponomareva, Miami – Senior, Krasnodar, Russia
Anastasiia Vasiukhina, Miami – Senior, Moscow, Russia

Miami senior Nelli Ponomareva and senior Anastasiia Vasiukhina went 2-0 at first doubles.  On Friday, March 23, the duo defeated Ball State's Dohanics/Sbircea 6-2 and on Sunday, March 25, they defeated Northern Illinois' Dekkinga/Molligoda 6-2.

Katja Fevralev, Western Michigan – Junior, Bielefeld, Germany (Marienchule Der Ursulinen)
Gabriela Slavova, Western Michigan – Sophomore, Sofia, Bulgaria (Vasil Levski)

Western Michigan junior Katja Fevralev and sophomore Gabriela Slavova improved to 2-0 overall together this spring after a doubles win at No. 2 over Wayne State’s Andrea Mitrache / Liz Ghellere to clinch the doubles point this past Thursday as the Broncos defeated the Warriors 7-0. The pair was also up 4-2 against their Bradley opponent before the doubles point was clinched on Saturday. With the help of Fevralev and Slavova, Western Michigan is now winners of two straight and 9-7 overall and 7-1 at home.