MAC Women’s Tennis Player of the Week
Kerstin Pahl ? Western Michigan
Senior - Kiel, Germany (Heinrich-Heine)
Kerstin Pahl went 6-0 in a trio of matches, including 3-0 at No. 1 singles with wins over a Big Ten opponent (Purdue's Stephanie Wooten 6-1, 6-4) and the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year (Yale's Janet Kim 6-2, 3-6, 6-4). She also went 3-0 in doubles with two partners, including a win at No. 1 doubles against Detroit. With her six wins, Pahl moved into third place all-time at WMU with 201 career victories. Pahl is only the eighth player in the history of WMU tennis (men or women) to win 200 or more matches. She also surpassed 100 doubles wins to become only the fourth woman to achieve that feat. For the year, Pahl is 19-3 in singles and 16-3 in doubles.
Additional Nominees
Tanyaradzwa Gombera ? Akron
Senior - Harare, Zimbabwe (Chisipite Senior HS)
Gombera posted a combined 4-0 record, while helping Akron to a 7-0 win at IUPUI and a 5-2 victory at Butler - both on Saturday. Against IUPUI, she scored a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles and paired with Carolina Castro Cota for an 8-4 decision at No. 1 doubles. Versus Butler, Gombera won 6-4, 6-1 at No. 3 singles and again joined forces with Castro Cota for an 8-4 win at No. 2 doubles. The four wins moved her into 15th all-time on the school's career wins chart, with 91. Her 42 singles wins tie her for 20th all-time in program history, while her 49th doubles victories is the 12th most.
Sarah Hebble ? Ball State
Freshman - Sellersburg, Ind./Silver Creek
Hebble claimed a two set victory over Emily Holsapple of IUPUI Thursday afternoon winning the first set 7-5 and the second one 6-3 at No. 1 singles. Hebble paired up with fellow freshman Kylee Johnson to earn an 8-1 win at No. 2 doubles helping the Cardinals to claim a 7-0 win over Jaguars. Ball State evened its record to 2-2 on the season while Hebble improves to 3-1 at No.1 singles.
Christine Chiricosta ? Bowling Green
Sophomore - Avon Lake, Ohio (Avon Lake)
Went 4-0 as the Falcons won a pair of matches over the weekend to remain unbeaten ... posted a pair of 6-1, 6-0 wins at the #2 singles flight in each of her two weekend matches, as BG defeated Xavier, 6-1, and Cincinnati, 7-0 ... in doubles play, teamed with senior Kelsey Jakupcin for 8-2 wins at the top doubles flight against both the Musketeers and the Bearcats ... now has a 5-0 singles record in dual-match play, and has teamed with Jakupcin for a 4-1 doubles mark in that time ... this season, leads BGSU with 25 overall wins ... is a team-best 13-3 in singles and 12-5 in doubles ... the Falcons are a perfect 5-0 in dual-match play.
Denise Harijanto ? Buffalo
Junior ? Jakarta, Indonesia
Singles: Defeated Lindsey Keeler (Manhattan), 6-1, 6-0 at number one. Doubles: Combined with Diana Popescu to defeat Keeler and Morgan MacTaggert, 8-0, at number one. Harijanto allowed just one game in winning her singles and doubles matches as the Bulls swept Manhattan, 7-0, on Saturday. Harijanto and Popescu are ranked fifth in the East region in doubles. Harijanto is also ranked 28th in the East in singles.
Anastasia Dracheva ? Miami
Sophomore ? Moscow, Russia
Dracheva split action between No. 2 and No. 3 singles. She defeated Tessa Lang of Iowa State 6-4, 6-2 at No. 2 Saturday. Dracheva then topped Niltooli Wilkins of Minnesota 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 3 singles on Sunday. She also went 1-1 as part of the No. 2 doubles teams, defeating Iowa State and losing to Minnesota.
Emily Rogers ? Northern Illinois
Freshman - Rochester, Minn. (Century)
Rogers recorded three individual wins over in-state rival opponents last weekend. In NIU's 5-2 win over Eastern Illinois (Feb. 7), Rogers teamed up with Kathryn Friedlund to post an 8-1 pro-set win at No. 3 doubles, helping the Huskies secure the decisive doubles point. In singles play against the Panthers, Rogers represented the No. 5 position, and outlasted her counterpart in three sets (3-6, 6-2, 6-0). On Saturday versus Southern Illinois, Rogers moved up to the No. 4 singles slot, and defeated the Salukis' Jessica Flannery in another three-set come-from-behind effort, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0.
Maha Guirguis ? Toledo
Junior - Cairo, Egypt (Manor House)
Maha Guirguis posted a victory for the Rockets at the No. 3 singles spot versus Michigan State, defeating Elena Ivanova 7-6(2), 6-2.
Previous Honorees
Jan. 20: Zara Harutyunyan ? Akron
Jan. 27: Maha Guirguis ? Toledo
Feb. 4: Ashley Moccia, Western Michigan
Upcoming Schedule
February 10 ? Tuesday
Valparaiso at Ball State, 1 p.m.
February 13 ? Friday
Cleveland State at Akron, 4 p.m.
Buffalo at Syracuse, 1 p.m.
Eastern Michigan at Nebraska, 4 p.m.
Toledo at Marquette, tba
February 14 ? Saturday
Ball State vs. Murray State (at Indianapolis), 1 p.m.
Buffalo at Cornell, tba
Eastern Michigan vs. Colorado State, 11:30 a.m. (at Lincoln, Neb.)
Miami vs. Xavier, 1 p.m. (at Hamilton, Ohio)
Toledo at Illinois-Chicago, tba
February 15 ? Sunday
Detroit at Akron, 10 a.m.
Wright State at Akron, 2 p.m.
Bradley at Ball State, 1 p.m.
Last Week’s Results
February 5 ? Thursday
at Ball State 7, IUPUI 0
February 6 ? Friday
At Wichita State 7, Eastern Michigan 0
at Western Michigan 4, Purdue 3
at Michigan State 6, Toledo 1
February 7 ? Saturday
Akron 7, IUPUI 0 (at Indianapolis)
Akron 5, at Butler 2
Yale 4, at Western Michigan 3
at Western Michigan 7, Detroit 0
at Bowling Green 6, Xavier 1
Oklahoma State 6, Eastern Michigan 1
Miami 6, Iowa State 1 (at Minneapolis)
at Northern Illinois 5, Eastern Illinois 2
at Buffalo 7, Manhattan 0
February 8 ? Sunday
at Bowling Green 7, Cincinnati 0
at Minnesota 5, Miami 2
Southern Illinois 5, at Northern Illinois 2