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
Paula Comella, Bowling Green – Senior, Ciutadella de Menorca, Spain (IES Ctieb)
Bowling Green senior Paula Comella at No. 1 singles was able to overcome losing the first set 6-4, to storm back to win the second and third sets, 6-0, 6-2 respectively. The win came against Miami's Brindtha Ramasamy, who is ranked second in the MAC for singles play according to r2sports.com. By winning the singles set, Comella pushed the overall match score to 3-3, putting the Falcons in place for a potential upset of MAC leader Miami. 
 
Additional Women’s Singles Nominees:
Sophia Geier, Akron – Senior, Burgebrach, Germany (Clavius Gymnasium)
Akron senior Sophia Geier at No. 1 singles went 1-0 in MAC singles plays. In the 6-1 win at defending MAC champion Buffalo, the senior captain shut out Chantel Martinez Blanco, 6-0, 6-0, at the No. 1 position. Overall, Geier stands 26-4 in singles action, 18-1 in spring action, and a perfect 6-0 in MAC play, all at the No. 1 spot.  She stands second on Akron’s career lists with 103 singles victories and 171 combined (singles/doubles) wins. Geier is pursuing her MBA.
 
Emel Abibula, Buffalo – Junior, Bucharest, Romania (German Goethe School)
Buffalo junior Emel Abibula at No. 5 singles lost just one game in her straight sets victory over Akron’s Luisa Echeverry on Saturday afternoon. Abibula won the match, 6-0, 6-1 for Buffalo lone singles victory of the day.
 
Milana Lysova, Miami – Sophomore, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Miami sophomore Milana Lysova at No. 2 singles came p clutch for the RedHawks on Saturday against Bowling Green, helping Miami stay atop the conference standings with a 4-3 win over the Falcons. Lysova earned the decisive victory at second singles to break the 3-3 tie and clinch the match, defeating Bowling Green’s Tavpash 5-7, 7-6, 6-3.
 
Melina Lyubomirova, Western Michigan – Senior, Sophia, Bulgaria (Emilian Staneu)
Western Michigan senior co-captain Melina Lyubomirova at No. 1 singles won 6-2, 7-6 (2) over Toledo's Deedee Leenabanchong during her final home match as a Bronco on Senior Day in Kalamazoo, Mich. on Sunday, April 14 while WMU prevailed 5-2 over the Rockets. She improved her record to 4-1 at the No. 1 singles spot during conference play.  Lyubomirova is a management major.
 
 
MAC Women’s Tennis Doubles Team of the Week
Polina Radeva, Bowling Green – Senior, Varna, Bulgaria (Nikola Yonkov Vaptsarov)
Ayumi Sasaki, Bowling Green – Junior, Montreal, Canada
 
Bowling Green senior Polina Radeva and junior Ayumi Sasaki at No. 2 doubles captured their second consecutive win, defeating Miami's duo of Kalita and Myers by a score of 6-2. The win clinched the doubles point for the Falcons in what would conclude as a 4-3 loss to the RedHawks. 
 
Additional Women’s Doubles Team Nominees:
Rita Pedroso, Akron – Junior, Porto, Portugal (Escola Secundaria Garcia de Orta)
Miruna Vasilescu, Akron – Sophomore, Ulm, Germany (Friedrich-List Schule Ulm)
 
Akron junior Rita Pedroso and sophomore Miruna Vasilescu at No. 1 doubles went 1-0 last week in MAC play. In the 6-1 win at defending MAC champion Buffalo, the duo defeated Chantel Martinez Blanco and Nikoleta Antoniou-Karademitrou, 6-3, helping the Zips take the team’s doubles point. Overall, Pedroso and Vasilescu stand 21-8 doubles action and 15-6 this spring (4-2 in MAC play). Pedroso is an international business major, while Vasilescu is a human resource management major.
 
Emily Struble, Miami – Senior, Holt, Mich.
Melati Devi, Miami – Sophomore, Jakarta, Indonesia
 
Miami senior Emily Struble and sophomore Melati Devi at No. 3 doubles put on a dominating performance against Bowling Green last Saturday, taking down the Falcons' Bettinelli/Pardo with a quick 6-1 victory. The duo has now won five straight doubles decisions this season.
 
Katja Fevralev, Western Michigan – Senior, Bielefeld, Germany (Marienshule Der Ursulinen)
Kristina Tiraspolsky, Western Michigan – Freshman, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (City Academy)
 
Western Michigan senior Katja Fevalev and freshman Kristina Tiraspolsky at No. 1 doubles helped clinch the doubles point over Toledo with a 6-4 win over Deedee Leenabanchong/Kokoro Chishaki during the Broncos' 5-2 win on Senior Day. The pair improved their record to 8-7 while Western Michigan moved to 4-1 in the MAC.