MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYER AND DOUBLES TEAM OF THE WEEK
MAC Women’s Tennis Singles Player of the Week
Pia Schwarz, Buffalo – Sophomore, Singen, Germany (Friedrich Woehler Gymnasium)
Buffalo sophomore Pia Schwarz at No. 1 singles went a perfect 2-0 last weekend winning both of her matches in straight sets. On Saturday, Schwarz had little trouble defeating Sibel Can of Lehigh, winning 6-2, 6-1. She followed that up with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Amira Badawi of NJIT on Sunday morning. Schwarz is now 8-1 this season at first singles.
Additional Women’s Singles Nominees:
Amy Kaplan, Ball State – Freshman, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Home Schooled)
Ball State freshman Amy Kaplan at No. 3 singles went 2-0 in singles action this past weekend taking straight set wins over Northern Kentucky and Murray State. She opened the weekend posting a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Northern Kentucky’s Elizabeth Rozin helping Ball State breeze past the Vikings, winning the match 6-1. Kaplan then helped clinch the 4-3 win over Murray State Saturday after her 6-1, 6-4 take down over the Racers Anja Lonacarevic. Kaplan has helped the Cardinals post a 7-2 non-conference mark so far this season. Kaplan also owns a 6-2 ledger in dual action.
Ayumi Sasaki, Bowling Green – Senior, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Ecole Secondaire de Mortagne)
Bowling Green senior Ayumi Sasaki at No. 4 singles, on Friday, Ayumi Sasaki gave the Falcons the single point that put them ahead in a match they went on to win to advance to the Illinois State Invitational Championship. Battling in the first set, Sasaki was victorious 7-5 before nearly dominating the second set 6-2. Moving to Saturday, Sasaki won the deciding singles point to clinch the 4-2 victory over Illinois State and claim the invitational championship. Sasaki took the first set 6-3 and the second 6-4, leading to her being named the invitational’s MVP.
Vasavi Ganesan, Eastern Michigan – Junior, Tamil Nadu, India (Alagappa Matriculation School)
Eastern Michigan junior Vasavi Ganesan at No. 2 singles went on an absolute tear last week, overcoming the challenge of playing with a respiratory infection to the tune of a 4-1 singles record. Ganesan won each of those matches (Temple, Feb. 25, Morgan State, Feb. 25, Niagra, Feb. 29, and Youngstown State, March. 1) in straight sets and held opponents to under two single-game wins in a set four different times. Ganesan has now won six of her last seven matches and is tied for the team lead with 12 singles wins on the season. Each of her wins during the last stretch have come at the No. 2 singles spot.
Paula Veyhle, Northern Illinois – Sophomore, Stuttgart, Germany
Northern Illinois sophomore Paula Veyhle at No. 5 and No. 6 singles improved to 11-3 on the season after picking up a pair of victories over the weekend. The Huskie sophomore clinched the 4-3 victory over Butler with a 7-6, 6-3 win over Caroline McAuley at No. 6 singles in her first match of the day. Veyhle was equally impressive in the nightcap as she scored a 6-4, 6-2 straight set triumph over Diya Matta at No. 5 singles in a 6-1 win over IUPUI. With the two wins, NIU elevated its season mark to 10-5.
Makenzie Myers, Miami – Junior, Evansville, Ind.
Miami junior Makenzie Myers at No. 4 singles went 1-1 last weekend, earning one victory over Marshall’s Jutte Van Hansewyck on Sunday via a dominant third set by a score of 1-6, 6-2, 6-0. Myers narrowly missed a second victory as well, losing a match to Winthrop's Alexandra Ferreira Da Silva in an extremely close third set tiebreak on Saturday, falling by a close score of 6-1, 1-6, 7-6(6)
Kaitlyn Rogosch, Western Michigan – Sophomore, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Western Michigan sophomore Kaitlyn Rogosch at No. 4 singles defeated Marlene Estenssoro of North Carolina A&T in straight sets on Sunday morning (6-1, 6-3). Her victory clinched the win for her team over the Aggies on the road.
MAC Women’s Tennis Doubles Team of the Week
Milana Lysova, Miami – Junior, Almaty, Kazakhstan (Number 13, Almaty)
Laura Rico, Miami – Sophomore, Bogota, Colombia
Miami junior Milana Lysova and sophomore Laura Rico at No. 1 doubles earned a win over a ranked doubles team on Sunday, defeating Marshall's top duo of Stafanic/Van Hansewyck 6-2 at first doubles. The Herd tandem was ranked No. 52 in the nation. In Rico/Lysova's other match, they fell by a close 7-5 score to Winthrop's number one singles pairing.
Additional Women’s Doubles Teams of the Week Nominees:
Livia Lukacs, Ball State – Sophomore, Pecs, Hungary
Emma Peeler, Ball State – Freshman, Cleveland, Ohio (Westlake High School)
Ball State sophomore Livia Lukacs and freshman Emma Peeler at No. 1 doubles opened last weekend ’s non-conference dual action with a 6-4 win over Northern Kentucky’s Maria Koa and Elizabeth Rozin. The win helped Ball State clinch the doubles point as the Cardinals went on to defeat Northern Kentucky by a score of 6-1. Peeler and Lukacs also both won in singles action at the No. 2 and No. 5 spot, respectively. The twosome was also up 4-3 on Saturday against Murray State in doubles action at court one but the match went unfinished.
Ioanna Tsadari, Bowling Green – Freshman, Athens, Greece (Nea Genia Ziridis)
Yulia Kapitanova, Bowling Green – Junior, Moscow, Russia (Universal)
Bowling Green freshman Ioanna Tsadari and junior Yulia Kapitanova at No. 2 doubles began the weekend for Bowling Green by claiming the only doubles win for the Falcons of the day on Saturday. Although Bowling Green didn’t take the doubles point, the momentum helped push the team to a 4-2 win to advance to the finals. As for Saturday, the pair finished first in doubles with a 6-2 win, setting the Falcons up to claim the doubles point in a 4-2 win over Illinois State to claim the invitational championship trophy.
Ambre Amat, Buffalo – Freshman, Antibes, France (Lycee Jacques Audiberti)
Gabriella Akopyan, Buffalo – Junior, Yerevan, Armenia (School N1591)
Buffalo freshman Ambre Amat and junior Gabriella Akopyan at No. 2 doubles remained undefeated on the year as they improved to 7-0. Playing at second doubles this past weekend, they clinched the doubles point against Lehigh with a 7-5 win over Junmoke James and Ella Imhof. They followed that up Sunday morning with an easy 6-1 win over Aya El Sayed and Adara Omar of NJIT.
Vasavi Ganesan, Eastern Michigan – Junior, Tamil Nadu, India (Alagappa Matriculation School)
Isabelle Popma, Eastern Michigan – Freshman, Straphorst, Netherlands (Center for Sports and Education)
Eastern Michigan junior Vasavi Ganesan and freshman Isabelle Popma at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles compiled a perfect 2-0 record. The duo won two matches on the week and were in the lead in an additional two that were unfinished. The matches were unfinished because Eastern Michigan had already clinched the team win in both events. The duo dropped just three total games in the two wins, over Morgan State, Feb. 25, and Youngstown State, March. 1, including a perfect 6-0 win over the Penguins in the pair’s most recent outing. This is incredibly impressive considering that Ganesan played the entire week with a respiratory infection.
Lara Slisko, Northern Illinois – Junior, Melbourne, Australia (St. Columbia’s College)
Maria Potsi, Northern Illinois – Junior, Athens, Greece (1st Gel Cholargou)
Northern Illinois junior Lara Slisko and junior Maria Potsi at No. 1 doubles played a key role in NIU’s 6-1 victory over IUPUI. The Huskie duo posted a 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles helping to secure the doubles point.
Femke Tjon-A-Joe, Western Michigan – Sophomore, Corpus Christi, Texas (Flour Bluff High School)
Jeryn Jack, Western Michigan – Junior, Tulsa, Okla. (Bishop Kelley High School)
Western Michigan sophomore Femke Tjon-A-Joe and junior Jeryn Jack at No. 1 doubles defeated Renata Ruiz Rabadan and Mikaya Hamilton of North Carolina A&T 6-0 on Sunday. Their win helped the Broncos earn the doubles point against the Aggies.
