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
Miruna Vasilescu, Akron – Sophomore, Ulm, Germany (Friedrich-List Schule)
Akron sophomore Miruna Vasilescu at No. 2 singles went 3-0 on the week, helping Akron to three team wins and a 2-0 start in MAC play. At Youngstown State, Vasilescu defeated Tamara Teufl in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2.  In the win over Miami (Ohio), she beat Milana Lysova, 6-1, 6-4.  In the victory over Bowling Green, Vasilescu defeated Paula Comella, 6-3, 6-1.  Overall, Vasilescu stands 18-8 in singles action, 15-3 in spring action, and 2-0 in MAC play. She is a human resource management.
 
Additional Women’s Singles Nominees:
Rebecca Herrington, Ball State – Junior, Alliston, Ontario, Canada (Banting)
Ball State junior Rebecca Herrington at No. 4 singles opened MAC play with a 2-0 record in dual play. She started the weekend off with a three-set thrilling victory over Western Michigan’s Femke Tjon-A-Joe. Herrington had dropped the first set 4-6 before fighting back in sets two and three, winning 7-6. She closed the weekend at Toledo with a straight set take down over Christina Fuller on court four, helping the Cardinals to a 7-0 sweep over the Rockets.  She also competed at the No. 1 doubles position this weekend with teammate Audrey Berger and went 1-1.
 
Pia Schwarz, Buffalo – Freshman, Singen, Germany (Friedrich Woehler Gymnasium)
Buffalo freshman Pia Schwarz at No. 3 singles won her two matches this past weekend. On Friday, she had a 6-1, 6-4 win over Polina Radeva from Bowling Green and she followed that up on Sunday with a 7-6 (4), 6-3 win over Emily Stuble of Miami. Schwarz improved to 10-2 at third singles and 15-5 overall on the year.
 
Priyana Kalita, Miami – Sophomore, Assam, India
Miami sophomore Priyana Kalita at No. 4 singles went 2-0 last week, starting with a dominant 6-2, 6-3 defeat of Akron's Luisa Echeverry on Friday in the RedHawks' MAC opener. Kalita then helped the RedHawks knot the match at 3-3 against Buffalo Sunday, staving off match point to defeat the Bull's Shih 5-6, 6-1, 7-6. This sparked Miami to a dramatic 4-3 win over the Bulls, coming back from a 3-1 deficit.
 
Maria Potsi, Northern Illinois – Sophomore, Athens, Greece (1st Gel Cholargou)
Northern Illinois sophomore Maria Potsi at No. 2 singles improved to 8-5 this spring as she posted a pair of wins as the Huskies opened conference play last weekend. Potsi, who did not lose a set all weekend, posted a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Toledo’s Eileen Carney on Friday, before defeating Denise Azcui of Western Michigan, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5.
 
Melina Lyubomirova, Western Michigan – Senior, Sofia, Bulgaria (Emilian Staneu)
Western Michigan senior co-captain Melina Lyubomirova at No. 1 singles went 2-0 over the weekend, guiding the Broncos to a 2-0 start to conference play. She defeated Ball State's Audrey Berger 6-3, 7-6 (4) during Western Michigan's first win over Ball State since 2015 prior to winning 6-0, 6-0 over Jovana Peric from Northern Illinois. She is a management major.
 
 
MAC Women’s Tennis Doubles Team of the Week
Paula Comella, Bowling Green – Senior, Ciutadella de Menorca, Spain (IES CTEIB)
Marharita-Sophia Tavpash, Bowling Green – Junior, Lviv, Ukrain (Lviv Linguistic Gymnasium)
 
Bowling Green senior Paula Comella and junior Marharita-Sophia Tavpash at No. 1 doubles recorded a 3-1 record over the last week, picking up victories against Principia College, Buffalo and Akron while falling to Clemson. To begin the week, the Falcon duo dominated Principia's Cooley and Kitchingman, winning 8-0 on Monday, March 18.  On Tuesday, Comella and Tavpash came up short against Clemson's Leduc and Navarro by a score of 6-3. The duo rebounded well and captured their first MAC win of the year against Buffalo's M. Blanco and Antoniou on Friday, 6-2. To close the full week of events, Comella and Tavpash picked up MAC win number two on Sunday, defeating Akron's Vasilescu and Pedroso by a score of 6-0. 
 
Additional Women’s Doubles Team Nominees:
Isabelle Dohanics, Ball State – Senior, Cranberry Township, Pa. (North Catholic Central High School)
Peyton Gollhofer, Ball State – Senior, Cartersville, Ga. (Laurel Springs Academy)
 
Ball State senior Isabelle Dohanics and senior Peyton Gollhofer at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles continue to find success on the court. The twosome opened MAC play with a 6-1 dominating win over Western Michigan’s Denise Azcul and Gabriela Slavova on court three Friday afternoon in Kalamazoo. The doubles tandem was then moved up to the No. 2 position against Toledo Sunday and were up 5-1 before the Cardinals had clinched the doubles point in their 7-0 sweep over the Rockets. The pair are currently 11-2 in doubles play this season.
 
Pia Schwarz, Buffalo – Freshman, Singen, Germany (Friedrich Woehler Gymnasium)
Arianna Paules Aldrey, Buffalo – Senior, Coruna, Spain (CIDEAD)
 
Buffalo freshman Pia Schwarz and senior Arianna Paules Aldrey at No. 2 doubles won both of their matches last weekend. On Friday, they helped clinch the doubles point with a 7-6 (4) win over Polina Radeva and Laura Silveria from Bowling Green as Buffalo defeated the Falcons, 6-1.  On Sunday, they also helped Buffalo win the doubles point against Miami with a 6-2 victory at second doubles. They now have six wins in dual competition and 10 overall on the year.
 
Melina Lyubomirova, Western Michigan – Senior, Sofia, Bulgaria (Emilian Staneu)
Femke Tjon-A-Joe, Western Michigan – Freshman, Corpus Christi (Flour Bluff HS)
 
Western Michigan senior Melina Lyubomirova and freshman Femke Tjon-A-Joe at No. 2 doubles improved to 11-3 on the season with a pair of wins while the Broncos opened conference play with wins over Ball State and Northern Illinois. The pair clinched the doubles point in both matches, defeating Ball State's Audrey Berger/Rebecca Herrington 6-2 and NIU's Paula Veyhle/Lara Slisko 6-4.