Women's Tennis Singles Player of the Week
Mariya Polishchuk, Ball State
Freshman, Moscow, Russia
Polishchuk played a big role in the Cardinals success this past weekend helping Ball State etch its name into the Ball State record books once again Sunday afternoon at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center, claiming the program's third Mid-American Conference regular season championship in the past five years. Polishchuk went 2-0 at the No. 3 singles this past weekend posting wins over Miami and Western Michigan. Polishchuk took down both of her respective opponents from each school in straight sets. She opened Friday’s play with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over the RedHawks Melati Devi. On Sunday, Polishchuk took down the Broncos Ana Guadiana, 6-0, 6-2. With the wins, Polishchuk helped Ball State extend its win streak to 21 while also remaining undefeated in MAC play with an 12-0 ledger.
Women's Tennis Doubles Team of the Week
Vasavi Ganesan, Eastern Michigan, Redshirt junior, Tamil Nadu, India
Isabelle Popma, Eastern Michigan, Redshirt freshman, Staphorst Netherlands
Ganesan and Popma helped Eastern clinch the doubles point at Western Michigan, April 23. The No. 1 pairing won 6-2, earning their 11th win of the season and third consecutive in doubles action.
Other Nominees
Shalini Tallamraju, Toledo
Fr., Munster, Ind.
Freshman Shalini Tallamraju provided the clinching victory in Toledo's 4-3 win over Buffalo on Friday. It was the second straight match in which the freshman clinched a 4-3 win for UT, and her fourth straight singles victory. The Munster, Ind. native claimed a three-set victory over UB's Azra Deniz Comlek (4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2) on the No. 5 court to hand the Rockets the fourth point in their win, the team's seventh straight victory. Tallamraju is now 15-5 in singles play this season.
Hsin-Yuan Shih, Buffalo
Junior, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Junior Hsin-Yuan Shih won both of her matches at third singles this past weekend. Against Toledo, Shih overcame a first set loss to win 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 and on Saturday against Northern Illinois she followed it up with a straight sets win over Diana Lukayanova, 6-3, 6-1. Shih now has a team high 10 wins in singles.
Iulliia Dmitrieva, Northern Illinois University
Junior, Smolensk, RussiaIulliia
Dmitrieva played a critical role in NIU's 4-3 win over Buffalo on Saturday. After teaming with Diana Lukyanova at No. 2 doubles to help NIU win the doubles point, the Huskie junior rallied for a three set victory at No. 6 singles. With the match tied 3-3, and already down a set, Dmitrieva fought off three consecutive match points to win the second set 7-6 (7-0). She then closed out her match with a dominating 6-0 third set victory to clinch the win for the Huskies. Her weekend began with a 6-4, 6-2 setback filling in at No. 5 singles at Bowling Green.
Laura Rico, Miami University
Jr. Bogota, Colombia
Laura won both of her singles this weekend with her Sunday win clinching the victory over Eastern Michigan. She is now 11-1 overall in MAC play. She also contributed to the 6-0 doubles win on Sunday.
Karin Hamilton, Western Michigan
Freshman, Calgary, Alberta
Hamilton went 2-0 on the weekend at no. 5 singles. In Friday’s 4-3 win over Eastern Michigan she was the first to finish after downing Julia Piatek 6-3, 6-1. In Sunday’s loss to Ball State she earned WMU’s lone point with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Livia Lukacs.
Marharita-Sophia Tavpash, Bowling Green
Senior, Lviv, Ukraine
Bowling Green senior Marharita-Sophia Tavpash tallied the final singles win for the Falcons on Friday in the 6-1 win over Northern Illinois. After winning the first set 6-2, Tavpash went into extra points in the second set, ending in a 7-6 (6) score to close out day for Bowling Green. With a pair of wins over the course of the day, Tavpash is now up to 149 combined career wins with the Falcons, tying her for seventh all-time with Abby Bratton, Meghan Rhodes and Erika Wasilewski.
Luisa Pelayo, Eastern Michigan
Redshirt junior, Porto, Portugal
Pelayo suffered a tough loss at WMU, April 23, falling 5-7, 6-7. The redshirt junior bounced back at home against Miami, April 25, downing her RedHawk opponent, 6-1, 6-1. The Portugal native earned her 16th singles win, tying for first on the team.
Cassie Alcala, Toledo, Fr, Pickerington, Ohio/
Sloane Teske, Toledo, So, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Toledo's top doubles team of freshman Cassie Alcala and sophomore Sloane Teske improved to 9-2 on the season wth a win on Friday against Buffalo. Playing on the top doubles court, Alcala and Teske defeated UB's Azra Deniz Comlek and Ambre Amat, 6-1, to help UT clinch the doubles point.
Jessica Braun, Ball State, Sophomore, Canton, Mich.
Mariya Polishchuk, Ball State, Freshman, Moscow, Russia
This dynamic duo helped the Cardinals this past weekend etch their name into the Ball State record books once again Sunday afternoon at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center, claiming the program's third Mid-American Conference regular season championship in the past five years. Braun and Polishchuk opened doubles play on Friday with a 6-3 victory over Miami’s Lena Babunski and Milan a Lysova at the No. 3 position. The twosome then mimicked that success on Sunday registering a 6-2 defeat over WMU’s No. 3 duo of Taylor Smith and Elizabeth Trupp. Braun and Polishchuk helped Ball State extend its win streak to 21 while also remaining undefeated in MAC play with a 12-0 mark.
Diana Lukyanova, Northern Illinois, Freshman, Moscow, Russia
Iulliia Dmitrieva, Northern Illinois, Junior, Smolensk, Russia
Diana Lukyanova and Iullia Dmitrieva stepped up to No. 2 doubles this week and played a key role in NIU's 4-3 win over Buffalo. The Huskie duo earned a 6-1 win over Buffalo's Pia Schwartz and Lolina Schietekat helping NIU to win the doubles point against the Bulls and helping the Huskies take the match and sweep the season series with Buffalo. They were tied with Bowling Green in their first match of the weekend before it was stopped.
Marharita-Sophia Tavpash, Bowling Green, Senior, Lviv, Ukraine
Laura Silveira, Bowling Green, Junior, Ponta Grossa, Brazil
The Bowling Green duo of Marharita-Sophia Tavpash and Laura Silveira claimed the second of the two doubles matches for the Falcons on Friday (April 23) to give BGSU a 1-0 lead en route to what would be a 6-1 victory. After the Falcons claimed No. 3 doubles, No. 1 and No. 2 doubles went into extra points. Tavpash and Silveira were able to snag a 7-6 final score after trailing 5-2 to give the Falcons the early advantage at 1-0 for the day.
