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 February 3.
 
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Evgeniya Levashova • Jr. • UCF • Moscow, Russia
Levashova, a transfer from Pepperdine, won both of her singles matches as UCF split a pair of contests against nationally ranked opponents last week. She scored a three-set win (5-7, 6-4, 6-4) in the Knights’ 4-3 setback to No. 9 Florida State and won another three-set battle to lead UCF past No. 18 Texas A&M. After dropping the first set against the Aggies, Levashova faced a 5-1 deficit in the second set before she staved off 10 match points on her way to a 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 victory. Levashova also paired with Domenika Turkovic for a doubles win against the No. 20-ranked tandem from Texas A&M.
 
 
AROUND THE AMERICAN
 
The American in the Oracle/ITA Rankings
Women’s Team (through January 29)

15

UCF

 
Women’s Singles (final fall ranking)

	34	Rebeka Stolmar	UCF
	40	Valeriya Zeleva	UCF
	52	Martina Okalova	Tulsa
	54	Marrie Mattel	UCF

 
Women’s Doubles (final fall ranking)

	3	Rebeka Stolmar/Marie Mattel	UCF
	11	Valeriya Zeleva/Ksenia Kuznetsova	UCF
	40	Martina Okalova/Vera Ploner	Tulsa
	53	Marta Bellucco/Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva	Wichita State

 
The 2020 American Athletic Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships will be held in April at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Tulsa. The women’s championship takes place April 15-18, while the men’s championship will be played April 16-19.
 
 
WOMEN’S TENNIS UPDATE
UCF (3-2) is ranked No. 15 in the Jan. 29 Oracle/ITA rankings. The Knights earned a split against two nationally ranked opponents last week as No. 9 Florida State took a 4-3 decision before UCF rebounded with a 5-2 win against No. 18 Texas A&M. Evgeniya Levashova went 2-0 in singles play last week, scoring three-set wins against Florida State and Texas A&M, while she also earned a doubles win against the Aggies’ tandem that was ranked No. 20 nationally. UCF is idle this week, but will be back action Feb. 14-16 against Nebraska, TCU and UC Santa Barbara.
 
Cincinnati (3-2) split its two matches last week as the Bearcats dropped a 4-3 decision to Miami (Ohio), but answered with a 5-2 win at Dayton. The Bearcats have been led by Maria Santilli, who is 4-0 in singles play, while Emma Miceli and Kelli Niehaus, both have 4-1 singles records. Cincinnati hosts IUPUI Friday and entertains Western Michigan Saturday.
 
UConn (1-0) began its season with a 4-3 win against Bryant as the Huskies battled through illnesses to some of their players to claim the victory. Mireille Moreau led the way with a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 1 singles. UConn takes to the road this week to face Seton Hall and NJIT.
 
ECU (1-2) was idle on the court this week, but the Pirates still made headlines as longtime head coach Tom Morris announced his retirement, effective March 1. Morris, who is in his 22nd season with the Pirates, has 316 career victories, including a streak of 22 straight wins in 2019 that stands as the longest winning streak by an sport in ECU history. Kristin Burgess will serve as the Pirates’ interim head coach beginning in March.
 
Houston (1-2) split a pair of matches last week as the Cougars cruised to a 7-0 win against McNeese State, but fell 4-3 to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Houston hosts a pair of matches this week as the Cougars take on Colorado Friday and Northwestern State Sunday.
 
Memphis (1-3) fell 7-0 at Auburn in the Tigers’ only match from last week. Memphis will play at home for the first time this week with a Sunday doubleheader against Southeast Missouri State and Lipscomb.
 
USF (2-3) was stunned 4-3 by North Florida in the Bulls’ lone contest last week. Laura Pellicer Perello was a straight-set winner at No. 1 singles against the No. 112-rated player nationally, but she and Evelyne Tiron were the Buills’ only winners in singles. USF is idle until a Feb. 15 match against Florida Gulf Coast.
 
SMU (3-0) reeled off 7-0 wins against Colorado State and McNeese State to remain unbeaten on the spring season. The Mustangs continue their five-match homestand with a Friday doubleheader against New Mexico and Sam Houston State along with a Sunday match against Colorado.
 
Temple (0-3) suffered a 4-0 setback to Drexel in the Owls’ only match of last week. Temple looks for its first win of the season Friday with a dual match against Rider.
 
Tulane (4-2) saw its four-match winning streak end as the Green Wave fell 6-1 at LSU and 5-2 against UAB. Freshman Mackenzie Clark scored a win against the nation’s No. 42-ranked player as she took a third-set tiebreaker against LSU’s top player. Clark went on to take a three-set singles win against UAB. Tulane hosts Samford Sunday.
 
Tulsa (6-2) fell 6-1 to No. 16 Oklahoma State in the Golden Hurricane’s only match last week. The team point came from the doubles round as Tulsa scored wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. Tulsa plays its lone home match in the month of February Sunday as the Golden Hurricane hosts Abilene Christian.
 
Wichita State (1-4) dropped its two matches last week as the Shockers fell 5-2 to Kansas State and 4-0 to Arkansas. Wichita State looks to snap a four-match slide Friday at Missouri before the Shockers take on Old Dominion Saturday.