Women's Singles Player of the Week
Vasavi Ganesan, Eastern Michigan
Redshirt junior, Tamil Nadu, India
Redshirt junior Vasavi Ganesan earned two singles wins this weekend against Western Michigan (March 19) and Miami (March 21). Ganesan played both matches at No. 3 and earned both victories in three sets. The redshirt junior won the first versus the Broncos, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, while defeating her RedHawk opponent, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8.
Women's Doubles Team of the Week
Luisa Pelayo, Eastern Michigan, R-Junior, Porto, Portugal
Grace Whitney, Eastern Michigan, R-Junior, Imlay City, Mich.
The No. 2 pairing of Luisa Pelayo and Grace Whitney continued their winning streak in doubles for Eastern Michigan against Western Michigan, March 19. The duo has won six consecutive matches for the Green and White, defeating the Broncos 6-2, and moving to 8-1 in the No. 2 spot, 9-4 overall.
Other Nominees
Patricia Panta, Toledo
Senior, Lima, Peru
Senior Patricia Panta went 2-0 last week in singles play, defeating NIU's Fernanda Naves (6-3, 6-2) on Friday before winning a three-set battle (7-6, 1-6, 6-3) against Bowling Green's Selina Karg, handing her BGSU counterpart her first singles defeat of the season. After winning a lengthy first set against Karg, Panta overcame a second-set loss to come back and win the third set to capture her fifth singles victory of the season.
Marta Bettinelli, Bowling Green
Senior, Milan, Italy
For the Falcons, Marta Bettinelli went 2-0 on the weekend playing No. 6 singles, including tallying the match-clinching point against Toledo on Sunday (March 21). Bettinelli began the weekend on Friday (March 19) with a win over Buffalo, seeing scores of 6-1 and 6-4 to push the Falcons' lead to 3-0 in the match. As for Sunday against Toledo, Bettinelli won the first set, but was forced to a third. In that set, she fell down 4-3 on the scoreboard, but tallied three straight points to win the set and deciding point to give Bowling Green the 4-3 win in the Battle of I-75.
Amy Kaplan, Ball State
Sophomore, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Kaplan went 2-0 in singles play this weekend for the Cardinals to help Ball State extend its win streak to 12 while remaining undefeated in Mid-American Conference action. Kaplan opened the weekend with a three set thriller against Miami’s No. 4 singles players Sofia Zaprianov. Kaplan won the match after dropping the first set, 0-6, 6-4, 7-5. On Sunday, Kaplan competed hard at Western Michigan on court five. Kaplan gave up only four games to her opponent Kailtlyn Rogosch to take the match in straight sets, 6-0, 6-4.
Maria Potsi, Northern Illinois University
Senior, Athens, Greece
Senior Maria Potsi went 1-1 in two matches over the weekend, improving to 10-4 at No. 1 singles for the Huskies, and helped the NIU women's tennis team to a 1-1 record in the two matches. Potsi suffered a 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 in her first match of the weekend to Cassie Alcala of Toledo before posting a 6-2, 7-5 win over Buffalo's Pia Schwartz. Potsi's win helped the Huskies to score their first victory over Buffalo since March 26, 2004.
Hsin Yuan Shih, Buffalo
Junior, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Junior Hsin Yuan Shih was a perfect 3-0 in singles this past week as she won all three of her matches at fourth singles in straight sets. It began against Niagara on Wednesday with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Erika Gonzalez. She then won both of her MAC matches over the weekend with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Yulia Kapitanova of BG. She closed it out with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Fernanda Naves of NIU.
Cassie Alcala, Toledo, Freshman, Pickerington, Ohio
Sloane TeskeToledo, Sophomore, Grand Rapids, Mich.
The doubles duo of freshman Cassie Alcala and sophomore Sloane Teske went 2-0 over the weekend, defeating NIU's No. 1 doubles team of Maria Potsi and Anastasia Rakita (6-4) on Friday and taking down Bowling Green's No. 1 doubles pairing of Laura Silveira and Marharita-Sophia Tavpash (6-1) on Sunday. This weekend was the first time Alcala and Teske had played together in doubles, and they helped the Rockets capture the doubles point in both matches.
Marta Bettinelli, Bowling Green, Senior, Milan, Italy
Selina Karg, Bowling Green, Freshman, Augsburg, Germany
The Bowling Green duo of Marta Bettinelli and Selina Karg went 1-0 on the weekend at No. 3 doubles. The pair began on Friday (March 19) by capturing a 6-2 win over Buffalo to help the Falcons secure the doubles point in what would be a 5-2 final in favor of the Falcons. The duo then took on Toledo on Sunday (March 21) and were up 5-4 before their match was deemed unfinished as Toledo took the doubles point.
Silvia Martinez, Ball State, Freshman, Castellefels, Spain
Jessica Braun, Ball State, Sophomore, Canton, Mich.
The No. 2 doubles tandem of Jessica Braun and Silvia Martinez went 2-0 this weekend to help Ball State move past Miami and Western Michigan in Mid-American Conference action, as BSU won both matches 6-1. With the wins, Ball State extended its win streak to 12 while remaining undefeated in league action. The twosome began the week at home Friday with a 6-2 take down over the RedHawks Milana Lysova and Makenzie Myers on court two. That match would be the deciding factor for the Cardinals to take the doubles point from Miami. On Sunday, the duo was back at on court two again but this time they finished first to give BSU the edge in doubles play after earning a 6-1 victory over Western Michigan’s Kristina Tiraspolsky and Karin Hamilton.
Fernanda Naves, NIU, Junior,Veracruz, Mexico
Lara Slisko, NIU, Senior, Melbourne, Australia
Fernanda Naves and Lara Slisko helped the NIU women's tennis team clinch its first victory over Buffalo since March 26, 2004 by defeating Pia Schwartz and Amber Amat, 6-4 at No. 2 doubles. NIU defeated Buffalo, 6-1, on Saturday, Mar. 19, at the Shadow Valley Tennis Center following a 6-1 setback to Toledo on Friday. Naves and Slisko suffered a 6-3 setback to Toledo's No. 2 doubles team to open the weekend.
