PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Memphis freshman Ryan Peniston and SMU junior Hristina Dishkova are the American Athletic Conference Players of the Week in men’s and women’s tennis for the week ending March 22.
Peniston wins Men’s Tennis Player of the Week honors after a pair of No. 2 singles wins last week in matches against Jackson State and No. 34 SMU. Friday against Jackson State, Peniston downed Jackson State’s Federico Buscarino (6-1, 6-7, 1-0) in a 7-0 Memphis victory. The next day against the Mustangs, Peniston defeated SMU’s Markus Kerner – who was American Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Player of the Week March 10 – in straight sets (6-0, 6-3) as part of a 4-2 Tigers victory. The freshman from Great Wakering, England, is 18-7 on the year, 8-3 in dual play and 3-0 against conference opponents.
Dishkova is the second consecutive SMU player to earn Women’s Tennis Player of the Week accolades, as teammate Dasha Sharapova took home the award last week. The junior from Kleinmachnow, Germany, won her lone singles match of the week, a straight-set victory at No. 1 (6-3, 6-0) over Emily Olivier of No. 41 New Mexico in a 4-0 Mustangs victory. Dishkova went 3-0 at No. 1 doubles, as she teamed up with Holly Verner for victories over New Mexico, East Carolina and Tulane. Dishkova is 18-12 in singles play this year and 23-4 while paired with Verner in doubles play, including a 12-0 mark in dual play.
Weekly Recap
- The UCF men won their fourth straight match with a victory over Florida A&M. Mariano Porter picked up a straight-sets singles victory at No. 2 in the 5-2 win. The Knight women went 1-1, falling to Tulsa before defeating Temple.
- Cincinnati went 1-2 on the week, falling to Tulane and Houston before defeating Marquette.
- The UConn men were defeated by Florida Tech, Embry-Riddle and Bethune-Cookman during a Florida trip. UConn’s women’s squad traveled to California, defeating Point Loma Nazarene and Azusa Pacific after being defeated by Amherst.
- The East Carolina men fell 4-3 to UNC Greensboro in the Pirates’ lone match of the week. The Pirate women were defeated by Elon, Houston and SMU.
- No. 48 Houston posted a 4-0 week, as the Cougars beat Tulane, Cincinnati, East Carolina and No. 62 Marshall. Freshman Mina Markovic went 4-0 in singles play, playing as high as No. 3 against the Bearcats.
- The No. 21 USF men defeated No. 25 Minnesota in the Bulls’ lone match of the week. The Bulls’ women’s squad fell to Tulsa.
- The No. 34 SMU men fell to No. 31 Oklahoma State and No. 73 Memphis to snap a six-match winning streak.
- Temple’s men’s squad fell to Penn and Georgetown over the weekend. The Owls’ women’s team traveled to Florida, falling to UCF and shutting out UCF.
- The No. 67 Tulane men defeated Rice in their lone match of the weekend. No. 13-ranked singles player Domink Koepfer tallied a straight-set win over the Owls’ Srikar Alla (6-1, 6-4) at No. 1. The Green Wave women defeated Cincinnati, No. 41 New Mexico and No. 74 SMU and fell to No. 48 Houston. Vanessa Nommensen was stellar for the Green Wave, picking up singles victories in all four matches.
- The Tulsa women’s team defeated UCF and USF on the road in the Sunshine State. The No. 20 Golden Hurricane men traveled to Indian Wells, California, falling to No. 4 USC and No. 28 California, while beating BYU.