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
Jessica Braun, Ball State – Freshman, Canton, Mich. (Plymouth High School)
Ball State freshman Jessica Braun at No. 1 and No. 2 singles opened the weekend with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Northern Iowa’s Harri Proudfoot. Braun helped the Cardinals post a 6-1 victory over Northern Iowa on Friday in Kalamazoo, Mich. She also competed at No. 3 doubles winning her match alongside teammate Rebecca Herrington, 6-0. On Saturday, Braun played at the No. 2 singles, earning a 6-2, 6-3 defeat over Findlay’s Samantha Sweet for another 6-1 win for Ball State. She then wrapped up her three-match weekend with a hard fought two set tie breaking victory over Oakland’s Ava Thielman, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 10-6 to help the Cardinals complete a 7-0 sweep over the Grizzlies. For the week, Braun went 3-0 in singles play and in doubles action for the Cardinals. She helped Ball State improve to 6-1 on the season and extend the Cardinals win streak to five. 
 
Additional Women’s Singles Nominees:
Marta Bettinelli, Bowling Green – Junior, Milan, Italy (Liceo Scientifico Leonardo Da Vinci)
Bowling Green junior Marta Bettinelli at No. 6 singles picked up the lone point of the day for Bowling Green against Louisville, topping Dina Chaika by scores of 6-4 and 6-1. In the first set, Bettinelli jumped out to a 4-0 lead before claiming the 6-4 set win. The second set was more of the same, this time going up 3-0, that rolled into a 6-1 win. 
 
Gabriella Akopyan, Buffalo – Junior, Yerevan, Armenia (School N1591)
Buffalo junior Gabriella Akopyan at No. 3 singles won in straight sets in her lone match of the week as the Bulls defeated Cleveland State, 6-1.  Akopyan won 6-3, 6-1 over Balance Lenoan at third singles. She is tied for the team lead in singles victories with 12.
 
Femke Tjon-A-Joe, Western Michigan – Sophomore, Corpus Christi, Texas (Flour Bluff High School)
Western Michigan sophomore Femke Tjon-A-Joe at No. 1 singles defeated Harri Proudfoot of Northern Iowa on Saturday in straight sets (6-2, 6-1), helping her Broncos earn a victory over the Panthers. She has a singles record of 4-3 this year. 
 
 
MAC Women’s Tennis Doubles Team of the Week
Rita Pedroso, Akron – Senior, Porto, Portugal (Escola Secundaria Garcia de Orta)
Miruna Vasilescu, Akron – Junior, Ulm, Germany (Friedrichs)
 
Akron senior Rita Pedroso and junior Miruna Vasilescu at No. 1 doubles had two victories last week.  In Akron’s first victory of the spring season, a 7-0 sweep of Seton Hall, the duo defeated Minja Gligic and Hiba El Khalifi, 6-2. Against West Virginia, Akron claimed the doubles point with wins at all three spots.  At No. 1, Pedroso and Vasilescu beat Anne-Sopie Courteau and Kat Lyman, 6-4. This spring the tandem stands 2-0 in doubles action, all at the No. 1 spot.
 
Additional Women’s Doubles Teams of the Week Nominees:
Amy Kaplan, Ball State – Freshman, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Homeschooled)
Victoria Sec, Ball State – Junior, New York, N.Y. (John McEnroe Academy)
 
Ball State freshman Amy Kaplan and junior Victoria Sec at No. 2 doubles went 3-0 last week for the Cardinals. The duo began the weekend with a 6-3 take down over Northern Iowa’s Harri Proudfoot and Valentina Caro helping Ball State move past UNI with a 6-1 victory. On Sunday, the duo did it again, they were the first doubles team off the court winning at the No. 2 position by a score of 6-1 over the Grizzlies Darya Maltseva and Alexandra Whall to help the Cardinals take the 7-0 sweep over Oakland Sunday afternoon. The duo helped Ball State improve to 6-1 on the season while extending its win streak to five.
 
Yulia Kapitanova, Bowling Green – Senior, Moscow, Russia (Universal)
Ioanna Tsadari, Bowling Green – Freshman, Athens, Greece (Nea Genia Ziridis)
 
Bowling Green junior Yulia Kapitanova and freshman Ioanna Tsadari at No. 2 doubles captured the only doubles win of the day for Bowling Green against Louisville. The pair defeated Louisville's Chaika and Vujanic by a score of 6-2, rattling off multiple consecutive points to claim the win. 
 
Ambre Amat, Buffalo – Freshman, Antibes, France (Lycee Jacques Audiberti)
Gabriella Akopyan, Buffalo – Junior, Yerevan, Armenia (School N1591)
 
Buffalo freshman Ambre Amat and junior Gabriella Akopyan at No. 3 doubles had another strong week as they remained undefeated in doubles action with a 6-3 win over Gaby Schoenberg and Sian Payne of Cleveland State.
 
Femke Tjon-A-Joe, Western Michigan – Sophomore, Corpus Christi, Texas (Flour Bluff High School)
Jeryn Jack, Western Michigan – Junior, Tulsa, Okla. (Bishop Kelley High School)
 
Western Michigan sophomore Femke Tjon-A-Joe and junior Jeryn Jack at No. 1 doubles shutout Emma Carr and Kim Zizek of Northern Iowa on Saturday (6-0), helping their team defeat the Panthers. They are now 2-0 as a doubles team during the 2020 campaign.