Co-Women's Tennis Singles Player of the Week
Julia Kuszynski, Toledo
Fr.Markham, Ont.
Freshman Julia Kuszynski was 3-0 in singles play last week, helping Toledo win all three of its matches, at Buffalo and at home against Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan, propelling the Rockets into second place in the MAC. Kuszynski started off her week with a win over UB's Ambre Amat on the No. 3 court (6-2, 7-5), then followed that up with victories over WMU's Ana Guadiana (6-1, 6-2) and EMU's Vasavi Ganesan (6-0, 6-1), both of which came on the No. 3 court as well. The freshman is 8-2 in her last 10 singles matches.
Emma Peeler, Ball State
Sophomore, Cleveland, Ohio
Peeler went 2-0 this weekend for the Cardinals at the No. 1 singles position. She started the week off with a 6-1, 7-6 take down over Northern Illinois’ Maria Potsi. On Sunday, Peeler had the game-winner against Bowling Green’s Margarita Tavpash. Peeler took the match in a three set thriller, 7-5, 5-7, 7-5. Not only did Peeler find success in singles she too also registered wins at the top doubles court against the Huskies and the Falcons. With the wins, Peeler helped the Cardinals remain at the top of the Mid-American Conference standings with an overall league record of 8-0. The Cardinals also have extended their win streak to 17.
Women's Tennis Doubles Team of the Week
Cassie Alcala, Toledo, Fr. Pickerington, Ohio
Sloane Teske, Toledo, So.Grand Rapids, Mich.
Toledo's doubles tandem of freshman Cassie Alcala and sophomore Sloane Teske went 3-0 in their doubles matches last week at Buffalo and at home against Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan, with all of their wins coming on the No. 1 court. On Tuesday at UB, Alcala and Teske defeated the Bulls top pairing of Pia Schwarz and Ambre Amat, 6-3. At home on Friday against the Broncos, they took down WMU's doubles team of Kristina Tirasplosky and Femke Tjon-A-Joe, 6-1, and they completed their perfect week with a 6-4 win over EMU's doubles team of Isabelle Popma and Vasavi Ganesan. Alcala and Teske are now 7-1 when playing together and they have won five straight doubles matches.
Other Nominees
Ambre Amat, Buffalo
Sophomore, Antibes, France
Sophomore Ambre Amat won a pair of matches at fourth singles this weekend as she helped lead the Bulls to a pair of 4-3 victories on the road. On Friday, She defeated Miami's Melati Devi in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 and on Sunday in Kalamazoo, Amat won the deciding match in the 4-3 win. Amat lost her first set to WMU's Karin Hamilton 6-4, but then she won the second set 6-4 and won the third 7-6 (7) in a tiebreaker.
Diana Lukyanova, Northern Illinois University
Freshman, Moscow, Russia
Diana Lukyanova continues to impress in her first season of collegiate tennis, improving to 18-4 on the year following a three-set victory at Miami on Sunday. With the match tied, 3-3, the Huskie freshman, who dropped the first set, 4-6, rallied to take the final two, 6-4, 6-2, to take the match and clinch NIU's season sweep of the RedHawks. Lukyanova, who saw her 17-match winning streak come to an end Friday against Ball State, has been a staple for the Huskies at No. 3 singles.
Emma-Lou Pommiers, Eastern Michigan
Redshirt freshman, Aire-sur-L'Adour, France
Pommiers started strong in singles play at Toledo Sunday, April 11, winning her first set 6-0. The redshirt freshman finished her competition at No. 4 in straight sets, 6-0, 6-3, to earn her 12th victory of the year, and eighth at No. 4. The France native needed a bounce back match after falling to Bowling Green at home Friday, April 9, 1-6, 3-6.
Selina Karg, Bowling Green
Freshman, Augsburg, Germany
Bowling Green freshman Selina Karg went 2-0 in singles play over the weekend as the Falcons finished 1-1. Beginning the weekend against Eastern Michigan, Karg picked up a win at No. 4 singles with scores of 6-1 and 6-3 to pick up a point as the Falcons tallied their first sweep of the MAC season. As for Sunday (April 11) against Ball State, Karg added another singles win, this time at No. 5 singles. For Karg, she used scores of 6-3, 6-2 to claim the point for Bowling Green.
Livia Lukacs, Ball State, Junior, Pecs, Hungary
Victoria Sec, Ball State, Senior, New York, New York
This Ball State dynamic duo had yet another successful weekend on the court for the Cardinals. Lukacs and Sec finished the Mid-American Conference weekend with a 2-0 slate after earning victories over Northern Illinois and Bowling Green. On Friday, the twosome kicked things off with a 6-3 defeat over Fernanda Naves and Lara Slisko. Lukacs and Sec then clinched the doubles point for Ball State on the road Sunday after posting a 7-6 victory over the Falcons No. 3 duo of Yulia Kapitanova and Hannah Neuman. With the wins, Lukacs and Sec have improved their overall record to 7-0 and 5-0 in the MAC while also helping the Cardinals remain undefeated in league action (8-0) and helped BSU extend its win streak to 17.
Diana Lukyanova, NIU, Freshman, Moscow, Russia
Iulliia Dmitrieva, NIU,Junior, Smolensk, Russia
Diana Lukyanova and Iulliia Dmietrieva moved up to No. 2 doubles this week and went 2-0, clinching the doubles point at Bradley and Miami. The Huskie duo scored a 6-2 win at Bradley to start the week, to score NIU's lone point of the match in a 4-1 setback to the Braves. After an unfinished match at No. 3 doubles versus Ball State, the pair fought off four match points at Miami to capture the win, 7-5, at the No. 2 spot and clinch the doubles point in a 4-3 win for the Huskies over the RedHawks.
Luisa Pelayo, Eastern Michigan, Redshirt junior, Porto, Portugal
Grace Whitney, Eastern Michigan Redshirt junior Imlay City, Mich.
The redshirt junior duo got back to their winnings ways Sunday, April 11 at Toledo. Pelayo and Whitney found themselves down 0-3 early in the contest at No. 2, but fought back to take the match 6-4. The pair bounced back after losing at home to Bowling Green 6-4, Friday April 9, to earn their 13th win of the season.
Ayumi Sasaki, Bowling Green, Senior, Montreal, Canada
Ioanna Tsadari, Bowling Green, Sophomore, Athens, Greece
The Bowling Green duo of Ayumi Sasaki and Ioanna Tsadari went 2-0 on the weekend as the Falcons finished up 1-1. Beginning on Friday (April 9) against Eastern Michigan, the pair tallied the doubles-clinching point with a 6-4 score. As for Sunday (April 11), the duo won the lone doubles win of the day for BGSU with a score of 6-3, playing No. 2 doubles in both matches.
