MAC Women’s Tennis Player of the Week
Maha Guirguis ? Toledo
Junior - Cairo, Egypt (Manor House)
Guirguis went 3-0 with wins versus Xavier and Cincinnati at No. 3 singles, and a No. 1 doubles win versus Xavier. With the Cincinnati match tied 3-3, Guirguis and Cincinnati's Valeriya Dandik were the final two players on the courts. Dandik took the first set, 6-7(5), and led the second set, 5-2, before Guirguis resurged, forced the set to a tiebreaker and then won the tie breaker to win the set, 7-6(5). With the match on the line, Guirguis defeated Dandik in the third set, 6-4, to win the No. 3 singles spot and give Toledo the final edge. Guirguis is 4-0 on the season in No. 3 singles while Guirguis and Wodzinski are 3-1 in No. 1 doubles.
Additional Nominees
Zara Harutyunyan ? Akron
Freshman - Yerevan, Armenia (Yerevan Secondary School No. 134)
Harutyunyan posted a singles and doubles win in sparking Akron's 5-2 victory at West Virginia last Friday ? the Zips' first win over the Mountaineers since 1988 (streak of six-straight losses) and first triumph against a Big East school since 1999 (versus Pittsburgh). Ranked 85th nationally and 11th regionally, Harutyunyan teamed with sophomore Anna Baronayte for an 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles, then scored a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles.
Christine Chiricosta ? Bowling Green
Sophomore - Avon Lake, Ohio (Avon Lake)
Chiricosta posted a pair of wins as the Falcons christened their new indoor home with a 7-0 win over Cleveland State at the Perrysburg Tennis Center. She blanked CSU's Jackie Tabb, 6-0, 6-0, at the second singles flight, and teamed with senior Kelsey Jakupcin for an 8-6 win at the #1 doubles flight. On the season, Chiricosta is now 10-3 in singles play and 9-5 in doubles action, leading the team in wins in both categories (tied with Jakupcin for team lead in doubles wins). She has a record of 19-8 this season and an overall career mark of 67-23, after just a year and a half at BGSU.
Stephanie Danesis ? Miami
Freshman - Akron, Ohio (Revere )
Miami has lost three straight matches, all tightly contested against Top 40 teams. Danesis was 2-0 at No. 3 singles and 1-1 at No. 1 doubles. In the lone setback, Miami led 4-0 and 6-2, but fell to the No. 33 doubles team in the country 9-7 versus South Carolina.
Kerstin Pahl ? Western Michigan
Senior - Kiel, Germany (Heinrich-Heine)
Pahl was dominant in picking up four victories in one day against Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Youngstown State. The reigning MAC Player of the Year didn't drop a set and won 40-of-46 games in six total sets. She dropped both opponents at No. 1 singles, including a pair of 6-0 sets and won both matches at No. 3 doubles 8-1. Pahl moved into fifth all-time at WMU with 194 career victories.
Last Week’s Scores
January 22 ? Thursday
at Ball State 6, Wright State 1
January 23 ? Friday
Akron 5, at West Virginia 2
at Bowling Green 7, Cleveland State 0
at Michigan State 7, Eastern Michigan 0
South Carolina 6, at Miami 1
at Xavier 4, Toledo 3
January 24 ? Saturday
Toledo 4, at Cincinnati 3
at Western Michigan 7, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 0
at Western Michigan 7, Youngstown State 0
January 25 ? Sunday
at Indiana 7, Ball State 0
at Wisconsin 7, Eastern Michigan 0
at Illinois 5, Miami 2
Upcoming Schedule
January 30 ? Friday
Wright State at Eastern Michigan, 1:00
Northern Illinois at Wisconson, 4:00
Akron at Cincinnati, 6:30
Toledo at Detroit, 8:00
January 31 ? Saturday
Buffalo at Boston College, 1:00
Detroit at Eastern Michigan, 8:30
Western Michigan vs. South Alabama, (at Gainesville), tba
February 1 ? Sunday
Buffalo at Brown, 10 am
Northern Illinois at Marquette, 10 am
Miami at Kentucky, 3:00
Northern Illinois at UW-Green Bay (at Milwaukee), tba
Toledo at Purdue, tba
Western Michigan vs. Florida or Oklahoma State (at Gainesville), tba