PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced the winners of its weekly men’s and women’s tennis honors for the week-ending Jan. 29.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ana Roman Dominguez • Sr. • USF • Burgos, Spain
Roman Dominguez repeats as The American’s Player of the Week after she registered two straight-set wins at No. 1 singles, including a victory against the nation’s top-ranked player, as the Bulls split a pair of dual matches at the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Athens, Georgia. She was a 7-6 (4), 6-2 winner against No. 1-ranked Katarina Jokic of Georgia, the 2018 ITA National Fall Singles Champion, in the Bulls’ 5-2 setback to the No. 5-ranked Bulldogs. She followed with a 6-1, 6-2 victory in singles and a 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles in a 4-2 win against William & Mary. Roman Dominguez has gone 5-0 in singles matches in the 2019 dual season, including a 3-0 mark against ranked opponents.
AROUND THE AMERICAN
The American has two women’s teams in the Jan. 23 Oracle/ITA rankings. UCF is ranked No. 22 nationally, while Tulsa stands at No. 23.
Tulane is the lone unbeaten squad among The American’s women’s teams as the Green Wave takes a 4-0 record into this week’s action.
WOMEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
UCF (3-2), which is ranked No. 22 in the Oracle/ITA rankings, split a pair of matches in Evanston, Illinois, as part of the ITA Kickoff Weekend. UCF dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker to No. 20 Northwestern, but answered with a solid 4-1 win against No. 23 Tulsa in the consolation match. Marie Mattel is off to a 5-0 start in singles, playing at No. 2 and No. 3, while the doubles tandem of Ksenia Kuznetsova/Valeryia Zeleva stands at 5-0 from the No. 1 spot. UCF will host Baylor Sunday in its only match of the week.
Cincinnati (1-2) looks to bounce back from back-to-back losses after the Bearcats were edged 4-3 by Indiana and fell 5-2 to Louisville last week. Freshman Maria Santilli has gone 3-0 in singles play at the No. 6 spot, while the Bearcats’ No. 1 doubles tandem of Antonella Bramato/Alexia Coutino has also turned in a 3-0 mark. Cincinnati heads to Toledo Saturday for its only match of the week.
UConn (1-2) dropped a pair of matches to Ivy League opponents last weekend as the Huskies fell 6-1 to Brown and 7-0 to Dartmouth. UConn plays at home for the first time in the spring season Friday with a match against Drexel.
ECU (0-2) fell 7-0 to No. 3 North Carolina in the Pirates’ lone match from last week. The Pirates are idle this week and resume play Feb. 8 at Tulane.
Houston (3-1) has won three straight matches after the Cougars handled Sam Houston State (5-2) and Incarnate Word (6-1) last week. Ndindi Ndunda has led the way with a 3-1 singles mark at the No. 1 position. Houston visits Auburn Saturday in the Cougars’ lone match of the week.
Memphis (0-2) opened its 2019 spring season at the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Nashville, but came away without a win in two matches. The Tigers fell 4-0 to No. 2 Vanderbilt and dropped a 4-3 decision to Winthrop in the consolation match. The Tigers head west for three matches this week. Memphis will face Arizona and Northern Arizona Friday in Tucson before visiting Arizona State Sunday.
USF (2-3) split its matches in the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Athens, Georgia. The Bulls fell 5-2 to No. 5 Georgia in the opener despite a win at No. 1 singles by Ana Roman Dominguez against the nation’s top-rated player. USF followed with a 4-2 win against William & Mary. Roman Dominguez has gone 5-0 in singles play this spring, including three wins against nationally ranked opponents. The Bulls have home matches against Middle Tennessee (Saturday) and North Florida (Sunday) on this week’s schedule.
SMU (1-3) went 1-1 at the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Palo Alto, California. The Mustangs fell 4-3 to Washington State in their opener, but bounced back in the consolation match to score a 4-0 win against Saint Mary’s. SMU’s No. 3 doubles tandem of Tiffany Hollebeck/Karina Traxler has gone 4-0 in dual matches, while senior Anzhelika Shapovalova is 3-1 in singles play in the spring. SMU is idle this week and resumes play Feb. 8 at Texas A&M.
Temple (2-1) was a 5-0 winner against Binghamton in the Owls’ home-opener. The Owls are off until a Feb. 15 match at Princeton.
Tulane (4-0) has gone unbeaten through four spring matches The Green Wave as a 4-3 winner against McNeese State before sweeping both ends of a doubleheader against Southern and Southeastern Louisiana by 4-0 scores. The No. 1 doubles tandem of Ivone Alvaro/Elena Muller is off to a 4-0 start. Tulane faces two opponents from the SEC this week with a Friday match against LSU and a Sunday contest at No. 12 Ole Miss.
Tulsa (5-3), which is ranked No. 23 in the Oracle/ITA rakings, dropped a pair of matches to nationally ranked opponents at the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Evanston, Illinois. The Golden Hurricane fell 4-2 to No. 17 Miami (Fla.) in the first round and lost 4-1 to No. 22 UCF in the consolation match. Martha Matoula has gone 5-1 in dual matches, including a 2-0 mark at No. 1 singles for Tulsa, which has home matches against Central Arkansas (Friday) and No. 8 UCLA (Saturday) on this week’s docket.
Wichita State (1-1) split its two matches at the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Austin, Texas, to open its 2019 dual season. The Shockers dropped a 4-1 decision to Baylor in its first contest, but bounced back to take a 4-1 win against Middle Tennessee in the consolation round. The Shockers will host Kansas Friday in their home opener.