Mid-American Conference

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYER AND DOUBLES TEAM OF THE WEEK
 
MAC Women’s Tennis Singles Player of the Week
Sophia Geier, Akron – Senior, Burgebrach, Germany (Clavius Gymnasium)
Akron senior Sophia Geier at No. 1 singles went 1-0 on the road, upsetting No. 86 Claudia Bartolome of Pittsburgh in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. Overall, Geier stands 14-3 in singles action and a perfect 6-0 in spring action, all at the No. 1 spot. Geier is pursuing her M.B.A.
 
Additional Women’s Singles Nominees:
Marharita-Sophia Tavpash, Bowling Green – Junior, Lviv, Ukraine (Lviv Linguistic Gymnasium)
Bowling Green junior Marharita-Sophia Tavpash played at No. 2 and 3 singles. In singles, Tavpash opened the weekend against St. Louis' Mariluz Rojo, picking up a win for the Falcons. In the match, Tavpash started out 6-3 before earning a shutout in the second set, 6-0. Continuing her play into Saturday against Michigan State's Lauren Lemonds. She won the first set in a hard fought 7-5 finish, however came up short in the second 6-3. In the third set, Tavpash was ahead 4-1 when the match was called. To conclude the weekend, Tavpash defeated Cleveland State's Klara Mrcela, taking a shutout in the first set, winning 6-0, before clinching a point for the Falcons by winning the second set 6-2. 
 
Nikoleta Antoniou-Karademitrou, Buffalo – Freshman, Volos, Greece
Buffalo freshman Nikoleta Antoniou-Karademitrou at No. 2 singles won both of her matches last weekend as she improved to 10-1 on the season.  She opened the weekend on Friday with a tough three-set win at second singles to extend the match against Duquesne. Antoniou-Karademitrou scored a 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (5) win over Laurel Shymansky and then on Saturday she turned around and had a straight-sets win as Buffalo swept singles competition.  Antoniou-Karademitrou was matched up with Towson’s Themis Haliou, winning 6-2, 6-4.  The freshman leads Buffalo in singles wins this year.
 
Brindtha Ramasamy, Miami – Freshman, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Miami freshman Brindtha Ramasamy at No. 1 singles won her only match last week, defeating James Madison's #1 Daria Afanasyeva 6-1, 6-0 at first singles. With the win, Ramasamy, currently ranked #96 in the country, improves to 5-1 on the season.
 
Christina Fuller, Toledo – Freshman, Newburgh, Ind. (Castle High School)
Toledo freshman Christina Fuller at No. 4 and No. 5 singles went 2-0 over the weekend in victories over Cleveland State and Wright State. Fuller defeated Cleveland State's Kateryna Avram in three sets (6-3, 4-6, 6-2) at No. 5 singles to clinch the match for the Rockets, edging out Cleveland State 4-3. On Saturday Fuller swept Wright State's Madison Riley in two sets (6-4, 6-4) at No. 4 singles, earning one of five singles points that contributed to the Rockets' 5-2 victory over Wright State. 
 
Femke Tjon-A-Joe, Western Michigan – Freshman, Corpus Christi, Texas (Flour Bluff High School)
Western Michigan freshman Femke Tjon-A-Joe at No. 4 singles went 2-0 during tight 4-3 losses at Marquette and Cincinnati last weekend. She defeated Alexandrina Chinikov of Marquette 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 on Friday, Feb. 8 prior to winning 6-4, 6-1 over Alexia Coutino from Cincinnati on Sunday, Feb. 10, improving her record to 6-2 in 2019. 
 
 
MAC Women’s Tennis Doubles Team of the Week
Ayumi Sasaki, Bowling Green – Junior, Montreal, Canada
Marta Bettinelli, Bowling Green – Sophomore, Milan, Italy (Liceo Scientifico Leonardo Da Vinci)
 
Bowling Green junior Ayumi Sasaki and sophomore Marta Bettinelli played at No. 3 doubles. To begin the weekend against St. Louis' Bourgeois and Masgav, the Falcon duo of Sasaki and Bettinelli jumped out to a 3-0 lead before closing out a 6-3 win. In the weekend's second match, Sasaki and Bettinelli came up short against Michigan State's team of Lemonds and Nguyen, losing 6-1. To close the weekend, Sasaki and Bettinelli clinched the doubles point for Bowling Green, defeating Cleveland State's Spindler and Payne. After starting down 3-2, Sasaki and Bettinelli fought back to earn an 8-6 win.
 
Additional Women’s Doubles Teams of the Week Nominees:
Emel Abibula, Buffalo – Junior, Bucharest, Romania (German Goethe School)
Hsin-Yuan Shih, Buffalo – Freshman, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (Lichih Senior High School)
 
Buffalo junior Emel Abibula and freshman Hsin-Yuan Shih at No. 3 doubles won both of their matches last weekend as the Bulls split their competition. On Friday, the duo had a 6-3 victory at third doubles, which help Buffalo secure the doubles point against Duquesne.  They followed that up with another win on Saturday against Towson, an easy 6-2 win over Amelia Lawson and Phoebe Collins.
 
Brindtha Ramasamy, Miami – Freshman, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Makenzie Myers, Miami – Sophomore, Evansville, Ind. (Reitz Memorial High School)
 
Miami freshman Brindtha Ramasamy and sophomore Makenzie Myers at No. 3 doubles earned a victory against James Madison, rallying back from a 5-3 deficit to force a tiebreak and ultimately win the match against JMU's Petersen/Nord. 
 
Claire Aleck, Toledo – Senior, Ada, Mich. (Forest Hills Northern High School)
Christina Fuller, Toledo – Freshman, Newburgh, Ind. (Castle High School)
 
Toledo senior Claire Aleck and freshman Christina Fuller at No. 3 doubles were the only Rocket doubles team that went 2-0 over the weekend. Aleck/Fuller opened the weekend by defeating Cleveland State's Isabella Spindler/Sian Payne 6-4 at the No. 3 doubles spot, helping the Rockets make a sweep for the doubles point in their tight 4-3 victory over the Vikings. On Saturday Aleck/Fuller defeated Wright State's Andreea Cracium/Jillian Milano 6-2 at No. 3 doubles, but the Rockets dropped the doubles point, earning their 5-2 victory completely in singles play. Aleck is an exercise science major, while Fuller is a communications major.
 
Denise Azcui, Western Michigan – Senior, Bloomington, Ind. (Bloomington South High School)
Gabriela Slavova, Western Michigan – Junior, Sofia, Bulgaria (Vasil Levski)
 
Western Michigan senior Denise Azcui and junior Gabriela Slavova at No. 3 doubles went 1-0 during tight 4-3 losses at Marquette and Cincinnati last weekend. At Marquette, the Azcui and Slavova had their match unfinished and followed with a 6-4 win over Emma Miceli and Caroline Morton from Cincinnati. Azcui is an industrial and entrepreneurial engineering major, while Slavova is a integrated supply management major.