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 March 4.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Martina Okalova • Jr. • Tulsa • Banska Bystrica, Slovakia
Okalova defeated the nation’s No. 17-ranked player in straight sets to help Tulsa to a 5-2 victory against Purdue, giving the Golden Hurricane its third straight win. Okalova scored a 6-4, 6-2 decision at the No. 1 singles position against the Boilermakers’ Silvia Ambrosio, giving Okalova her second win against a ranked singles opponent in the 2018-19 season. Okalova improved her singles record to 5-4 in dual matches, while she stands at 7-3 in doubles matches as part of the nation’s seventh-ranked tandem.
AROUND THE AMERICAN
The American in the Oracle/ITA Rankings
Women’s Team (through February 26)
Women’s Singles (through February 20)
| |
29 |
Valeryia Zeleva |
UCF |
| |
44 |
Ana Roman Dominguez |
USF |
| |
87 |
Martha Matoula |
Tulsa |
| |
90 |
Liza Buss |
SMU |
| |
117 |
Vivienne Kulicke |
SMU |
| |
118 |
Sandra Honigova |
Wichita State |
| |
119 |
Marie Mattel |
UCF |
Women’s Doubles (through February 20)
| |
7 |
Martina Okalova/Vera Ploner |
Tulsa |
| |
22 |
Valeryia Zeleva/Ksenia Kuznetsova |
UCF |
| |
25 |
Elena Muller/Ivone Alvaro |
Tulane |
| |
30 |
Fatima Bizhukova/Marta Bellucco |
Wichita State |
| |
55 |
Liza Buss/Anzhelika Shapovalova |
SMU |
The 2019 American Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships will be held in April at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida. The women’s championship takes place April 17-20, while the men’s championship will be played April 18-21.
WOMEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
UCF (10-2), which is ranked No. 18 in the Oracle/ITA list, the highest ranking in program history, has won eight straight matches after a 6-1 victory against Yale Sunday. Sophomore Rebeka Stolmar, the 2018 American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year, turned in a 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles and paired with freshman Valentina Martin for a 6-4 decision at No. 3 doubles, making a winner of Martin in her first collegiate action. The Knights host three matches at the USTA National Campus this week beginning with Friday contests against Tulane and Miami (Ohio) and a Sunday matchup against Penn.
Cincinnati (6-4) rallied for a 4-3 win against East Tennessee State in its only dual match from last week. Ioana Guna led the way with a straight-set win at No. 1 singles, giving the Bearcats their first team point of the day, helping Cincinnati overcome a 2-0 deficit. The Bearcats travel to Wright State Saturday for their only action this week.
UConn (2-7) fell 4-3 to Stony Brook in the Huskies’ only match from last week. Senior Gillian Perrotta had kept the Huskies alive with a three-set victory at No. 5 singles, but the Seawolves won a three-set battle at No. 1 to take the match. UConn hosts Temple Saturday.
ECU (12-2) extended its winning streak to 12 matches in a busy week - one in which the Pirates went 6-0 and won each match by a 7-0 score. The Pirates began with the week with a shutout of UNC Wilmington in Greenville before winning five matches in Orlando, Florida. ECU topped Birmingham Southern Saturday, took a twinbill against Grand Valley State and North Carolina Wesleyan Sunday and topped Hampton and Saginaw Valley State Monday. Senior Celia Ruiz improved her singles record to 9-1 with a 5-0 showing last week. ECU is back at home Thursday to face Charlotte before Saturday matches at Elon and North Carolina A&T.
Houston (6-4) returned to action to score its first road win of the season, a 5-2 decision at UTRGV. The Cougars play a Wednesday doubleheader against Prairie View A&M before hosting SMU Saturday.
Memphis (6-6) split a pair of matches last week as the Tigers fell 7-0 at No. 29 Old Dominion before bouncing back for a 4-3 victory against William & Mary. Sophomore Alisha Reayer delivered the clinching point against William & Mary with a 7-5, 7-6 (2) victory at No. 1 singles. The Tigers head to Birmingham, Alabama, for a Friday dual match against UAB and a Saturday contest against Samford.
USF (6-6) evened its overall record as the Bulls took a 4-2 victory against Tulane Sunday in their only match of the week. Ana Roman Dominguez improved her record to 9-1 on the year with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles, while freshman Amelie Boy took a 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 2. The Bulls host Penn Thursday.
SMU (4-7) dropped its fourth straight match - all to teams that appear in the Oracle ITA team rankings - after a 7-0 setback to No. 24 Texas A&M last week. The Mustangs are back in action Saturday at Houston in their only match of the week.
Temple (6-2) was a 5-2 winner against Fordham in the Owls’ only match from last week. Stefaniya Sirukova delivered a three-set win at No. 1 singles, while Ruoyu Chen took a straight-set victory at No. 2. Temple is back at home Thursday against Delaware before the Owls visit UConn Saturday.
Tulane (5-9) has dropped nine of its last 10 dual matches after the Green Wave fell 4-2 to USF and 4-3 to Penn in Tampa, Florida, last week. The doubles tandem of Ivone Alvaro/Elena Muller is ranked No. 25 in the Oracle/ITA rankings. Tulane is at No. 17 UCF Friday in its only match of the week.
Tulsa (10-5) picked up a 5-2 win against Purdue in the Golden Hurricane’s only match from last week. Martina Okalova scored a straight-set win (6-2, 6-2) against the Boilmakers’ top player, who was ranked No. 17 nationally, as Tulsa took five of the six singles matches. Tulsa, which has won its last three matches, faces No. 28 Oklahoma Saturday and hosts Bradley Sunday.
Wichita State (7-4) was idle last week. The Shockers return to action Thursday at Kansas State and host No. 8 Oklahoma State Sunday. Wichita State closes the week’s action with a Monday contest against No. 38 Gonzaga.
This Week In The American
| Thursday, March 7 |
Penn at USF |
Noon |
|
Delaware at Temple |
1 p.m. |
|
Wichita State at Kansas State |
3 p.m. |
|
|
|
| Friday, March 8 |
Tulane at UCF |
11 a.m. |
|
Memphis at UAB |
3 p.m. |
|
Tulsa at Oklahoma |
4 p.m. |
|
Miami (Ohio) at UCF |
5 p.m. |
|
|
|
| Saturday, March 9 |
Temple at UConn |
9 a.m. |
|
SMU at Houston |
Noon |
|
Memphis at Samford |
1 p.m. |
|
Cincinnati at Wright State |
2:30 p.m. |
|
|
|
| Sunday, March 10 |
Prairie View A&M at Houston |
11 a.m. |
|
Penn at UCF |
Noon |
|
Bradley at Tulsa |
Noon |
|
Oklahoma State at Wichita State |
1 p.m. |
|
Prairie View A&M at Houston |
3 p.m. |
|
|
|
| Monday, March 11 |
Gonzaga at Wichita State |
2 p.m. |
all times Eastern
| Last Week's Results |
|
| Thursday, February 28 |
ECU 7, UNC Wilmington 0 |
|
|
| Friday, March 1 |
Stony Brook 4, UConn 3 |
|
Cincinnati 4, East Tennessee State 3 |
|
|
| Saturday, March 2 |
Houston 5, UTRGV 2 |
|
Tulsa 5, Purdue 2 |
|
Old Dominion 7, Memphis 0 |
|
ECU 7, Birmingham Southern 0 |
|
Temple 5, Fordham 2 |
|
|
| Sunday, March 3 |
UCF 6, Yale 1 |
|
Memphis 4, William & Mary 3 |
|
USF 4, Tulane 2 |
|
ECU 7, Grand Valley State 0 |
|
ECU 7, North Carolina Wesleyan 0 |
|
|
| Monday, March 4 |
Penn 4, Tulane 3 |
|
ECU 7, Hampton 0 |
|
ECU 7, Saginaw Valley State 0 |