Women's Tennis Singles Player of the Week
Pia Schwarz, Buffalo
Junior, Singen, Germany
Junior Pia Schwarz won her lone match of the week at first singles as she defeated Emma Peeler of Ball State in thee sets. Schawarz won her first set 6-3 before falling in the second in a tiebreaker. She then won her third set 10-7. Schwarz is 5-2 at first singles on the season and has won three straight matches.
Women's Doubles Team of the Week
Vasavi Ganesan, Eastern Michigan, Redshirt Junior, Tamil Nadu, India
Isabelle Popma Eastern Michigan Redshirt Freshman Staphorst, Netherlands
The No. 1 doubles pairing for Eastern Michigan of Vasavi Ganesan and Isabelle Popma went 2-0 on the weekend at No. 1 against Butler and Indiana Tech, April 2. The duo dominated their Bulldog opponent 6-1, before heading to Warrior territory and downing the opposition there, 6-2. Together, the pair of Eagles improve their record to 5-3 at No. 1, 7-3 overall.
Other Nominees
Cassie Alcala, Toledo, Freshman, Pickerington, Ohio
Sloane Teske, Toledo, Sophomore, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Toledo's doubles team of Cassie Alcala and Sloane Teske claimed a win on the top doubles court at Bowling Green on Friday, defeating the Falcons' No. 1 tandem of Laura Silveira and Marharita-Sophia Tavpash 6-2. The win helped Toledo claim a crucial doubles point in the 4-3 road win at BGSU. Alcala and Teske are now 4-1 as a doubles team.
Shalini Tallamraju, Toledo
Fr., Munster, Ind.
Freshman Shalini Tallamraju provided the clinching victory in Toledo's 4-3 win at Bowling Green on Friday, defeating Marta Bettinelli in three sets (6-4, 4-6, 6-2) to give the Rockets the win. Toledo was trailing 3-1 in the match at one point, but after winning the next two singles matches to tie it up at 3-3, it all came down to Tallamraju on the No. 6 singles court, where she delivered and sent the Rockets home with a win. The Munster, Ind. native is 10-4 in singles play this year.
Silvia Martinez, Ball State
Freshman, CASTELLEFELS, SPAIN
It was the Cardinals off weekend, but Ball State decided to go ahead and travel to Buffalo to make up a match that had been postponed on the Bulls behalf earlier in March due to the protocols of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the help of Martinez, the Cardinals got their 15th straight win of the season after defeating the Buffalo Bulls in a 4-3 thriller Saturday afternoon at the Miller Tennis Center. Martinez gave up only one game with her straight set defeat over Buffalo’s Karademitrou, 6-0, 6-1. Martinez also won in doubles alongside her partner Jessica Braun on court two, 6-4.
Luisa Pelayo, Eastern Michigan
Redshirt junior, Porto, Portugal
Luisa Pelayo improved her overall singles record to 12-6 this weekend with wins over Butler and Indiana Tech, April 2. In the first match, Pelayo bested her Bulldog opponent in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, before taking down her Warriors opposition, 6-2, 6-0. The redshirt junior is playing well, boasting a three-win match win streak at No. 2, the longest streak she has had since moving up from the No. 3 spot.
Ayumi Sasaki, Bowling Green
Senior, Montreal, Canada
Bowling Green senior Ayumi Sasaki tallied a singles win for the Falcons on Friday (April 2) against the rival Rockets. Playing No. 3 singles against Eileen Carney, Sasaki allowed Carney to capture just one point over the two sets, winning them by scores of 6-0 and 6-1. The win moved Sasaki up to 22nd all-time in program history for career singles wins with 63 while putting her in a tie for 26th all-time for combined career wins with 117.
