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
Brindtha Ramasamy, Miami – Freshman, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Miami freshman Brindtha Ramasamy went 1-1 on the week at No. 1 singles in her first ever collegiate matches. On Sunday, she defeated Louisville's Aleksandra Mally, currently ranked in ITA's national top 125, in two sets to earn her first career win as a RedHawk.
 
Additional Women’s Singles Nominees:
Sophia Geier, Akron – Senior, Burgebrach, Germany (Clavius Gymnasium)
Akron senior Sophia Geier had a perfect day in the spring opener while helping the Zips to a 2-0 record to open the spring schedule, as the Zips captain went 2-0 at No. 1 singles. In the 6-1 win over Oakland, Geier easily defeated Ava Thielman, 6-0, 6-4.  In the 5-2 victory over Chicago State, she defeated Anastasia Goncharova, 6-1, retired. Overall, Geier stands 10-3 in singles action and 2-0 in spring action. Geier earned a bachelor’s degree in sport management. in May 2018.  She is pursuing an M.B.A.
 
Peyton Gollhofer, Ball State – Senior, Cartersville, Ga. (Laurel Springs Academy)
Ball State senior Peyton Gollhofer at No. 4 singles opened the spring season with a 1-0 record. Gollhofer was the first off the court for the Cardinals after her straight set, 6-1, 6-0 take down over Dayton's Natalie Allen. With the win, Gollhofer put the Cardinals ahead of the Flyers 2-0. Ball State went on to beat Dayton 7-0 Monday afternoon.
 
Paula Comella, Bowling Green – Senior, Ciutadella de Menorca, Spain (Ies Cteib)
Bowling Green senior Paula Comella at No. 1 singles won in straight sets only allowing her opponent to capture three points over the course of the match, leading the Falcons to their first sweep to begin spring play in 23 years. She followed up her opening victory with another on Sunday. After losing the first set, Comella stormed back to win the second and third sets to win the match. For the weekend, she ended 2-0 in singles play.
 
Dee Dee Leenabanchong, Toledo – Junior, Bangkok, Thailand (Suphanburi Sports School)
Toledo junior Dee Dee Leenabanchong at No. 1 singles swept Abbie-Jade Riley 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 1 singles position in Toledo's exhibition match against Division II foe Tiffin on Jan. 18. On Jan. 20 Leenabanchong defeated Claire Czerwonka in two sets (6-1, 6-1) at the No. 1 singles position in Toledo's sweep of Valparaiso. Her major is management information systems.
 
Melina Lyubomirova, Western Michigan – Senior, Sofia, Bulgaria (Emilian Staneu)
Western Michigan senior Melina Lyubomirova at No. 1 singles went 1-1 vs. Notre Dame and DePaul. At Notre Dame on Friday, she won the sole set in a tough loss for Western Michigan against the Fighting Irish, falling 2-6, 6-3, 2-6. On Sunday, Lyubomirova won 6-3, 7-6 at the No. 1 singles position, helping guide the Broncos to a 6-1 victory over DePaul, the program's first win over the Blue Demons since 2007. 
 
 
MAC Women’s Tennis Doubles Team of the Week
Melina Lyubomirova, Western Michigan – Senior, Sofia, Bulgaria (Emilian Staneu)
Femke Tjon-A-Joe, Western Michigan – Freshman, Corpus Christi, Texas (Flour Bluff High School)
 
Western Michigan senior Melina Lyubomirova and freshman Femke Tjon-A-Joe at No. 1 doubles fell at Notre Dame and bounced back on Sunday versus DePaul as Western Michigan's No. 2 pair.  The Broncos won at the third spot prior to falling at No. 1, setting up an exciting finish to clinch the doubles point at No. 2. Lyubomirova and Tjon-A-Joe won in a 7-6 (2) tie-breaker to earn the point and guide Western Michigan to a 6-1 victory, the program's first win over the Blue Demons since 2007. Lyubomirova is a management major and Femke Tjon-A-Joe is a pre-business major.
 
Additional Women’s Doubles Teams of the Week Nominees:
Sophia Geier, Akron – Senior, Burgebrach, Germany (Clavius Gymnasium)
Anna Uljanov, Akron – Sophomore, Schweinfurt, Germany (Olympia Morata Gymnasium)
 
Akron senior captain Sophia Geier and sophomore Anna Uljanov at No. 2 doubles shut out Oakland’s Alexandra Whall and Amanda Nilsson, 6-0. Moving up to No. 1 against Chicago State, Geier and Uljanov beat Anastasia Goncharova and Diana Borodina, 7-5. After opening weekend, Geier and Uljanov are 2-0 in doubles action.
 
Sarah Swiderski, Ball State – Senior, Wesley Chapel, Fla. (Saddlebrook Prep)
Victoria Sec, Ball State – Sophomore, New York, N.Y. (John McEnroe Academy)
 
Ball State senior Sarah Swiderski and sophomore Victoria Sec opened spring play in dominating fashion Monday against Dayton at No. 2 doubles. The twosome only gave up a game to Anna Delaney and Kelly Pienman, winning the match by a score of 6-1. Sec and Swiderski were the first doubles tandem off the court for Ball State. The duo helped the Cardinals take the first point from the Flyers.
 
Polina Radeva, Bowling Green – Senior, Varna, Bulgaria (Nikola Yonkov Vaptsarov)
Ayumi Sasaki, Bowling Green – Junior, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
 
Bowling Green senior Polina Radeva and junior Ayumi Sasaki at No. 2 doubles were the only Falcon duo to win both of their matches this past weekend. To open the spring campaign, Radeva and Sasaki combined to win both of their matches. Against Bellarmine, the duo only allowed three points in pursuit of a 6-3 victory that assisted in Bowling Green's first sweep to open spring play in 23 years. In an encore effort, Radeva and Sasaki won 6-4 over Louisville. 
 
Dee Dee Leenabanchong, Toledo – Junior, Bangkok, Thailand (Suphanburi Sports School)
Kiersten Carlson, Toledo – Freshman, Carmel, Ind. (Carmel High School)
 
Toledo junior Dee Dee Leenabanchong and freshman Kiersten Carlson at No. 1 doubles defeated Abbie-Jade Riley/Anais Geslin 6-0 in Toledo's exhibition match against Tiffin on Jan. 18. The duo later defeated Valparaiso's Claire Czerwonka/Randi Wind 6-2 to help earn the doubles point in the Rockets' sweep of the Crusaders. Kiersten Carlson's major is pre-med. Dee Dee Leenabanchong's major is management information systems.