Mid-American Conference

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE 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 2-0 on the road to remain undefeated this spring. In the win at Duquesne, Geier battled Julianne Herman to a 5-7, 7-1, 6-1 victory.  Against West Virginia, she won a very competitive match, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5). Overall, Geier stands 16-3 in singles action and a perfect 8-0 in spring action, all at the No. 1 spot.  Geier is pursuing her M.B.A.
 
Additional Women’s Singles Nominees:
Peyton Gollhofer, Ball State – Senior, Cartersville, Ga. (Laurel Springs Academy)
Ball State senior Peyton Gollhofer at No. 2 and No. 3 singles extended her win streak to six in singles play last weekend, helping the Cardinals to victories over Saint Francis and Duquesne. Gollhofer opened the weekend with a straight set defeat over Saint Francis’ Lucia Seigford at the No. 2 position. Gollhofer then closed out the two-match road trip for Ball State with a 6-3, 6-2 take down over Duquesne Aishwarya Kona on court three. Gollhofer alongside her doubles partner Isabelle Dohanics also posted a 2-0 record in doubles play.
 
Marharita-Sophia Tavpash, Bowling Green – Junior, Lviv, Ukraine (Lviv Linguistic Gymnasium)
Bowling Green junior Marharita-Sophia Tavpash at No. 3 singles came away with a victory over the weekend, capturing a point for the Falcons in their 5-2 loss to Pittsburgh. Tavpash defeated the Panthers' Camila Moreno in straight sets, winning 6-1, 6-4. Over her last five matches, Tavpash is 4-0, with one match becoming unfinished when she was just two points from winning. Her wins have come against Pittsburgh, Cleveland State, Saint Louis and Indiana Tech, with the unfinished match being against Michigan State. 
 
Chantal Martinez Blanco, Buffalo – Senior, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Buffalo senior Chantal Martinez Blanco at No. 1 singles won both of her matches this past weekend as she improved to 9-4 on the year.  On Saturday, she dropped just three games in a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Mercyhurst’s Kayla Frost.  On Sunday, Martinez Blanco overcame a first set loss in a tiebreaker to Dominique Vasile to come back and defeat 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-2.
 
Brindtha Ramasamy, Miami – Freshman, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Miami freshman Brindtha Ramasamy at No. 1 singles went 2-0 last week and is currently ranked No. 96 in the ITA National Singles Rankings. On Saturday she breezed past Cincinnati's Ioana Guna 6-2, 6-0. She won again on Sunday but in a bit of a different fashion, coming from behind to defeat Xavier's Ahmeir Kyle 4-6, 7-6, 10-5. With the perfect week, the freshman moves to 6-1 on the season.
 
Claire Aleck, Toledo – Senior, Ada, Mich. (Forest Hills Northern High School)
Toledo senior Claire Aleck at No. 6 singles defeated Youngstown State’s Claudia Barboza in a three-set thriller on Friday, Feb. 15. The score between the Rockets and Penguins stood at 3-3 and Aleck’s match would be the deciding point. Aleck dropped the first set 6-7(2) before bouncing back to take the second and third sets 6-3, 6-4. Aleck’s victory at the No. 6 position clinched the match for the Rockets with a final score of 4-3. Aleck is an exercise science major.
 
Melina Lyubomirova, Western Michigan – Senior, Sofia, Bulgaria (Emilian Staneu)
Western Michigan senior Melina Lyubomirova at No. 1 singles went 2-0.  As a team, the Broncos went 2-0 on the weekend with wins over Green Bay and Wright State to improve to 6-4 overall in 2019. Lyubomirova defeated Green Bay’s Yazmin Glazbrook 6-3, 7-6 (1) and Wright State’s Hailey Morgan 6-2, 7-5.  She is a management major.
 
 
MAC Women’s Tennis Doubles Team of the Week
Rita Pedroso, Akron – Junior, Porto, Portugal (Escola Secundaria Garchia de Orta)
Miruna Vasilescu, Akron – Sophomore, Ulm, Germany (Friedrich-List Schule)
 
Akron junior Rita Pedroso and sophomore Miruna Vasilescu played at No. 1 doubles and went 2-0 on the week.  In the win at Duquesne, the duo posted 6-2 victory over Julianne Herman and Laurel Shymansky to take the team doubles point. At West Virginia, the duo claimed a 6-4 win over Paula Goetz and Nicole Roc. Overall, Pedroso and Vasilescu stand 11-6 doubles action and 6-4 this spring. Pedroso is an international business major, while Vasilescu is a human resource management major.
 
Additional Women’s Doubles Teams of the Week Nominees:
Peyton Gollhofer, Ball State – Senior, Cartersville, Ga. (Laurel Springs Academy)
Isabelle Dohanics, Ball State – Senior, Cranberry Township, Pa. (North Catholic Central)
 
Ball State senior Peyton Gollhofer and senior Isabelle Dohanics at No. 3 doubles won their fifth straight last weekend taking down Saint Francis’ and Duquesne’s double teams. The duo did not give up a game against Saint Francis’ duo of Laura Gutierrez and Stephanie Miller, winning the match 6-0. The doubles tandem then defeated Duquesne’s Priyanka Mitta and Meredith Lee at the No. 3 spot by a score of 6-1, helping Ball State to improve to 6-1 this spring.
 
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 at No. 3 doubles concluded their lone match against Pittsburgh with a score of 6-5, with the match ending unfinished. Sasaki and Bettinelli nearly came away with a win against Pitt's duo of Lucas and Moreno. 
 
Chantal Martinez Blanco, Buffalo – Senior, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Nikoleta Antoniou-Karademitrou, Buffalo – Freshman, Volos, Greece
 
Buffalo senior Chantal Martinez Blanco and freshman Nikoleta Antoniou-Karademitrou at No. 1 doubles swept their two matches this past weekend as the Bulls improved to 6-1 on the season. On Saturday vs. Mercyhurst, they came away with a 6-3 victory over Kayla Frost and Sangeeta Roopan and they followed that up on Sunday, scoring a 7-5 win over Lyla Rodriquez and Payton Bradley in what would be a 6-1 win over the Bobcats. Overall, they are 10-3 in doubles this year.
 
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 won their only decision this week, as they took down Xavier's team of Roper/Reichenbach 6-3 on Sunday. Their other match, against Cincinnati's Miceli/Morton on Saturday, was abandoned at 6-6.