MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES MEN’S TENNIS PLAYER AND DOUBLES TEAM OF THE WEEK
MAC Men’s Tennis Singles Player of the Week
Parrish Simmons, Ball State – Freshman, Huntsville, Ala. (Homeschooled)
Ball State freshman Parrish Simmons at No. 4 singles has been quite a force for the Cardinals this season as a true freshman with a 5-2 record. In Ball State’s lone match this week, Simmons was the last competition on Friday against Cleveland State with the match tied at 3-3. Simmons had dropped his first set to the Vikings Kade Mindry but came back in the second set 6-3 to send the match to a third frame. In the third frame it was another tight battle, tied at 6-6 Parrish took the tiebreaker from Mindry 7-6 (7-5) to claim the 4-3 victory for Ball State.
Additional Men’s Singles Nominees:
Bor Schweiger Muzar, Northern Illinois – Senior, Crnomelj, Slovenia (Gimnm)
Northern Illinois senior Bor Schweiger Muzar at No. 1 and No. 2 singles posted a perfect 2-0 mark in singles play last week, helping the Huskies go unbeaten for the weekend. Muzar posted a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Nicola Wehrle of Cardinal Stritch, playing at number two, on Saturday, Feb. 15 and then topped Eastern Illinois’ Freddie O’Brien, 6-4, 6-3, at number one on Sunday, Feb. 16.
Cole Shoults, Toledo – Sophomore, Carmel, Ind. (Carmel High School)
Toledo sophomore Cole Shoults at No. 3 singles went 2-0 last week, helping the Rockets to a 6-1 victory over Northwestern Ohio on Friday and a 5-2 victory over Youngstown State on Saturday. On Friday, Shoults defeated UNOH’s Martin Stanchev, 6-4, 6-4. In the Rockets’ battle with Youngstown State on Saturday, Shoults clinched the match for the Rockets with a three-set win over Laurentiu Mandocescu (6-2, 1-6, 6-2).
MAC Men’s Tennis Doubles Team of the Week
Danilo Vukotic, Toledo – Senior, Nis, Serbia (Gymnasium Svetozar Markovic)
Filip Zupancic, Toledo – Junior, Ljubljana, Slovenia (Gimnazija Siska)
Toledo senior Danilo Vukotic and junior Filip Zupancic at No. 1 doubles went undefeated last week in a 6-1 victory over Northwestern Ohio and 5-2 victory over Youngstown State. On Friday, Vukotic/Zupancic swept UNOH’s Sergio Conde/Martin Stanchev, 6-0, to help the Rockets clinch the doubles point. On Saturday, Vukotic/Zupancic defeated Joao Garretto/Will Everett 6-2 to secure the doubles point.
Additional Men’s Doubles Teams of the Week Nominees:
Parrish Simmons, Ball State – Freshman, Huntsville, Ala. (Homeschooled)
Thibault De Negri, Ball State – Junior, De Haan, Belgium
Ball State freshman Parrish Simmons and junior Thibault De Negri at No. 2 doubles claimed the doubles point for the Cardinals on Friday against Cleveland State. The duo managed to take down Matthew Terry and Kade Mindry by a score of 7-5 to give Ball State the 1-0 edge heading into singles action against the Vikings. That win proved to come in handy when the match was tied 3-3 later in the match. The duo helped Ball State to 4-3 victory over Cleveland State. Ball State has now taking the doubles point from seven of its eight opponents this season.
Mikko Malinen, Northern Illinois – Sophomore, Malmo, Sweden
Victor Spolidorio, Northern Illinois – Junior, Peoria, Ill. (Dunlap High School)
Northern Illinois sophomore Mikko Malinen and junior Victor Spolidorio at No. 1 doubles improved to 5-1 in dual matches with a pair of wins last week. The Huskie tandem opened with a 6-3 win over Javier Apellani and Mike Delebois of Cardinal Stritch on Saturday, Feb. 15. Malinen and Spolidorio then downed Daniel Hernandez and Pau Riera of Eastern Illinois, 6-2, on Sunday, Feb. 16.
