MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES MEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For Immediate Release-Wednesday, April 14, 2010
MAC Men's Tennis Player of the Week
Maksym Bartiuk, Northern Illinois - Freshman, Ukraine
Freshman Maksym Bartiuk defeated Buffalo's Wojciech Starakiewicz 7-5, 6-2 at No. 1 singles last Sunday, April 11, and has now won nine straight matches at No. 1. Also, Maksym and fellow Northern Illinois freshman Maximilian Phillips defeated Buffalo's Wojciech Starakiewicz and George Tibil 8-6 at No. 2 doubles. Bartiuk is 12-4 overall, 2-0 in the MAC, and has won six consecutive singles matches in straight sets.
Additional Nominees:
Cliff Morrison, Ball State - Sophomore, South Africa
Sophomore Cliff Morrison gave the Cardinals the 2-1 advantage over Western Michigan last Saturday after posting a three set defeat (0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) over Michael Calderone at No. 2 singles. Morrison's win helped Ball State notch a 4-3 victory over Western Michigan. With the win, Ball State remains undefeated in the MAC and gave head coach Bill Richards his 197th career league victory. Morrison is now 10-8 on the season.
Marcelo Mazzetto, Buffalo - Junior, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Junior Marcelo Mazzetto posted a perfect 3-0 record over the weekend. Mazzetto opened play with a 6-0, 6-0 win at second singles over Chicago State's Jerrick Boone. He then followed with doubles and singles victories over Northern Illinois. Mazzetto downed Northern Illinois' Mikhail Titov, 6-4, 6-2, for the clincher in Buffalo's 5-2 win over the Huskies. Mazzetto also combined with Kirill Kolomyts at first doubles to defeat Titov and Roman Turtygin, 8-2, in Buffalo's lone doubles win against Northern Illinois. Mazzetto is 15-10 in singles play this season and when combined with Kolomyts is undefeated at first doubles against MAC opponents at 3-0.
Knot Likitkumchorn, Toledo - Junior, Yala, Thailand
Junior Knot Likitkumchorn went 2-1 last weekend as the Rockets defeated Dayton, 7-0, before dropping a 5-0 decision at No. 2 Ohio State. Likitkumchorn and Leo Sarria won an 8-5 contest at No. 2 doubles against the Flyers, and he followed that up with a 6-4, 6-4 victory at No. 3 singles. In the match against Ohio State, Likitkumchorn and Sarria fell 8-5 at No. 2 doubles, and he was neck-and-neck with Chase Buchanan, the country's 12th ranked player, trailing 6-5 in the first set when the match was halted. The junior is 6-1 playing at third singles this spring and is 3-0 in MAC play.
Casey Cullen, Western Michigan - Junior, Beverly Hills, Mich. (Birmingham Seaholm High School)
Junior Casey Cullen was the only player to win in both singles and doubles in the Broncos' match with Ball State last Saturday. Cullen started with an 8-5 win at No. 3 doubles with Pablo Olivarez to give the Broncos the lead. Cullen improved to 27-9 overall in doubles this season, including 19-4 in dual matches. Cullen then came back in singles to win at No. 4 over Alex Brym 6-2, 6-7, 6-3. Cullen improved his overall career record in singles and doubles to 129-60 (.683) after his sweep of the Cardinals.
Previous Men's Tennis Players of the Week
January 28: Aleksandar Elezovic - Toledo
February 3: Michael Calderone - Western Michigan
February 10: Casey Cullen - Western Michigan
February 17: Knot Likitkumchorn - Toledo
February 24: Kazuya Komada - Western Michigan
March 3: Aleksandar Elezovic - Toledo
March 10: Casey Cullen - Western Michigan
March 17: Wojciech Starakiewicz - Buffalo
March 24: Eduardo Pavia - Ball State
March 31: Kazuya Komada - Western Michigan
April 7: Knot Likitkumchorn - Toledo
April 14: Maksym Bartiuk - Northern Illinois