MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES WOMEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For Immediate Release-Wednesday, April 14, 2010
MAC Women's Tennis Player of the Week
Jill Pastunink, Western Michigan - Freshman, Zeeland, Mich. (Zeeland West High School)
Freshman Jill Pastunink was a perfect 4-0 as the Broncos won a pair of road matches at Eastern Michigan and Toledo to run their winning streak to four in a row and assume sole possession of second place in the MAC. Pastunink remained unbeaten in MAC singles (5-0) in her debut season with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Eastern Michigan and 6-0, 6-2 victory over the Rockets. She also won at No. 1 doubles at Eastern Michigan, 8-7 (5), with senior Emily Dudzik and then won 8-4 at No. 3 vs. Toledo in her first career dual match pairing with sophomore Maria Nivia.
Additional Nominees:
Anya Baronayte, Akron - Junior, St. Petersburg, Russia
Junior Anya Baronayte posted a 3-1 combined record (2-0 singles, 1-1 doubles) last week to help Akron to a 4-0 start to its conference schedule. Her performance included a 7-6, 6-2 victory at No. 5 singles in non-league play at No. 26 DePaul on Saturday. Baronayte is 16-0 in dual-match singles competition this season and 13-2 on the doubles court.
Maddy Eccleston, Bowling Green - Freshman, Toledo, Ohio (St. Ursula Academy High School)
Freshman Maddy Eccleston went 3-1 overall in Bowling Green's two matches last weekend as the Falcons dropped a pair of narrow 4-3 decisions on the road, to Toledo and Eastern Michigan. At Toledo, Eccleston won at both singles and doubles, with a straight-sets win (6-3, 6-3) over Rahshell Washington at the fifth flight and teamed with junior Christine Chiricosta for an 8-5 win at the top flight. At Eastern Michigan, Eccleston dropped a narrow three-set match at the fifth singles flight against Eastern Michigan's Marcela Rivero and combined with Chiricosta for an 8-4 win at the top doubles level vs. the Eagles. On the year, Eccleston is second on the team with 36 overall wins and is 16-12 in singles and 20-6 in doubles. Eccleston leads the team in doubles wins, while Eccleston and Chiricosta have won six of their last seven doubles matches at the top flight.
Denise Harijanto, Buffalo - Senior, Jakarta, Indonesia
Senior Denise Harijanto went undefeated in singles and doubles matches as the Bulls defeated Northern Illinois, 5-2. She downed Kathryn Friedlund, 6-1, 6-1, at first singles and combined with Aleksandra Petrova, as a regionally-ranked pair, to defeat Brooke Forsberg and Emily Rogers, 8-4, to help Buffalo claim the opening doubles point.
Xu Chang, Eastern Michigan - Junior, Beijing, China
Junior Xu Chang led her squad to a 1-1 record, beating Bowling Green, and falling in a close match to Western Michigan. Xu posted a 3-1 record, with her only loss being a doubles loss versus Western Michigan, and was the decisive point in Eastern Michigan's victory over the Falcons. Chang leads the team with 16 wins.
Megan Martzolf, Miami - Junior, Indianapolis, Ind. (Park Tudor High School)
Junior Megan Martzolf ran her record to 17-0 in singles play this season with a pair of wins at No. 3 this week. Martzolf defeated a non-conference opponent from Louisville 6-0, 6-4 on Friday before routing Dena Boulieris of Ball State 6-1, 6-1 on Saturday. Martzolf was 1-1 with partner Stephanie Danesis in No. 1 doubles play, after an 8-5 loss to Louisville, they responded with an 8-4 win over the Cardinals tandem.
Martina Schnapp, Northern Illinois - Junior, Bratislava, Slovakia
Junior Martina Schnapp was 2-0 over last weekend at No. 6 singles, and has won three straight MAC matches. Last Friday, Schnapp defeated Akron's Jeremie Benjamin 6-2, 3-6, 10-6 and on Saturday defeated Buffalo's Anna Subenkova 6-3, 7-6 (4). Schnapp is 4-2 in MAC play.
Ashley Frey, Toledo - Junior, Mentor, Ohio (Mentor High School)
Junior Ashley Frey played a key role in helping Toledo split its two matches last weekend. In Toledo's 4-3 rally over rival Bowling Green, Frey scored a 6-1, 6-4 victory at No. 3 singles. She followed that performance with another straight-set victory at No. 3 singles against Western Michigan, claiming a 7-6 (7-2), 7-5 decision. Frey is now 10-4 on the season at No. 3 singles and 4-1 in MAC play.
Previous Women's Tennis Players of the Week
January 28: Angelina Jogasuria - Akron
February 3: Katia Babina - Bowling Green
February 10: Anya Baronayte - Akron
February 17: Martina Wodzinski - Toledo
February 24: Nadia Zoubareva - Toledo
March 3: Katia Babina - Bowling Green
March 10: Jeremie Benjamin - Akron
March 17: Christine Chiricosta - Bowling Green
March 24: Denise Harijanto - Buffalo
March 31: Maria Nivia - Western Michigan
April 7: Zara Harutyun - Akron
April 14: Jill Pastunink - Western Michigan