Conference Matches Yield Players of the Week - AmericaEast.com
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The America East regular season came to a close this week as four teams wrapped up their schedules. On the men’s side, Boston University sophomore Josh Friedman (Los Angeles, Calif./Milken Community) emerged as the Player of the Week as the Terriers topped University of Hartford. For the women, University at Albany senior Susan Ma (Parkville, Mo./Park Hills South) garnered Player of the Week honors as she led the Great Danes past Hartford.
Friedman dropped just two games in a 6-1, 6-1 singles victory at the top spot against Hartford. He also won his doubles match agaisnt the Hawks, 8-1, also from the top spot. The sophomore helped the Terriers secure a 7-0 victory to close out their regular-season schedule.
Ma helped the Great Danes end the regular-season with a win as she won both her matches in a 7-0 sweep against Hartford. Ma won at the No. 1 singles position, 6-1, 6-2. The senior also teamed with junior Aubrey Brooks to take an 8-4 win at the top doubles spot.
University at Albany (5-15) was swept in all three matches of its Spring Break trip to Hawaii, but rebounded with a 7-0 sweep of Hartford on Tuesday, April 26. Senior Susan Ma (Parkville, Mo./Park Hills South) defeated Maggie Sabatino in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. Ma and junior Aubrey Brooks (Guilford, Conn./Guilford) recorded an 8-4 win at No. 1 doubles. Brooks was also victorious at the No. 3 singles spot, defeating Nicole Haynal, 6-1, 6-3. Senior Laine Mackey (Leawood, Kan./Shawnee Mission) dropped just one set in her defeat of Ashley Harel, winning, 6-1, 6-0. In the fourth position, sophomore Sarah Iannone (North Vancouver, British Columbia/Seycove Secondary School) recorded a 6-1, 6-1 win over Kaitlin Lennon. Senior Melissa Coughlin (Auburn, N.Y./Auburn) and freshman Rachel Drake (Lancaster, N.Y./Niagara Academy of Tennis) completed the singles sweep with wins at fifth and sixth singles, respectively. Mackey and Coughlin posted an 8-0 win at second doubles, while Drake and Iannone sealed up the doubles sweep for Albany, recording an 8-2 win over Harel and Emily Wilhoft.
The Binghamton University women (11-8) closed out the regular season on a six-match winning streak following a sweep over Hartford and Stony Brook in the final weekend. Seniors Anna Edelman (Great Neck, N.Y./Great Neck North) and Lauren Bates (Buffalo, N.Y./Kenmore West) broke a pair of school records en route to wins over the Hawks and Seawolves. Edelman set the program’s single-season record with her 31st and 32nd wins in singles competition. Bates registered a pair of singles victories as she moved into sole possession of first place on the program’s all-time singles wins chart with 88 career victories. The Bearcats will enter the America East Championships at Yale University on a winning streak of five matches or more for the seventh consecutive season. Binghamton men’s tennis (10-13) was idle last week as it prepared to make run at the program’s fourth consecutive America East Championship. The Bearcats closed the regular-season with wins over conference rivals Hartford (7-0) and Stony Brook (6-0) two weeks ago. Senior No. 1 Sven Vloedgraven (Lochem, Netherlands/Isendoorn College) is ranked No. 80 in the country and will likely earn a repeat trip to the NCAA Singles Championship by maintaining a top-125 position in the ITA rankings. Vloedgraven, the two-time reigning America East Player of the Year, is 30-7 overall, including 19-2 in duals. He is in the midst of a 19-match win streak. Senior No. 2 Arnav Jain (Mumbai, India/J.M.L. School) is 25-9 overall, including 20-3 in duals. With Jain’s most recent singles win, he reached the 100-win milestone for his career and his career win percentage of .787 ranks among the highest in school history.
The Boston University men’s tennis team swept Hartford, 7-0, to conclude the regular season with a 10-10 record after recording a combined 10 wins in the previous two seasons. Freshman Jesse Frieder (Providence, R.I./The Wheeler School) blanked his opponent in the No. 2 singles spot, while sophomore Josh Friedman (Los Angeles, Calif./Milken Community) dropped just two games in the top slot. The Terriers will next try to claim their fifth league title and first since 1996. The women were idle last week and will enter the tournament with a 10-8 record. Two-time America East Player of the Year Stefanie Nunic (New York, N.Y./Broward Virtual Education) is on a 14-match win streak at the top singles spot and will try to help an injury-plagued program claim its 18th straight league title and 13th NCAA berth. The Terriers will hope to have junior Petra Santini (Sibenik, Croatia/Gimnazija Za Dopisno Obrazovanje Birotehnika) back in the lineup. Santini won the 2010 America East Championship Most Outstanding Player award. She has not played since retiring from a match on March 20, while sophomore Vivien Laszloffy (Budapest, Hungary/Thomas Mann Gymnasium) has not seen action since retiring with an injury on April 10.
The University of Hartford tennis teams concluded their regular seasons this week, as both teams lost to conference opponents. The men (3-12) fell at Boston University on April 21, 7-0, while the women (3-12) were defeated at Albany on April 26 by the same 7-0 score. The women were playing without regular No. 1 singles player freshman Katina Zampas (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills/Capistrano Valley Christian). Sophomore Eric Floum (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Warde) had the best showing on the men’s side, falling at No. 4 singles, 6-2, 5-7, 10-8. Despite the losses, both teams picked up more dual-match victories over the course of the full fall and spring seasons than in any other year under head coach Michael Raymond. For the women, their five combined victories were the most since 2001-02. For the men, their six total victories were the most since 2003-04.
The UMBC men’s and women’s tennis teams had their final regular-season matches at Stony Brook canceled due to rain. The men finished the campaign at 13-5 while the women posted a mark of 9-8. The lone senior on the men’s team, Mwali Phiri (Yonkers, N.Y./Tyler JC) led the team with 13 singles victories (13-4) and 22 total wins. Phiri competed primarily at No. 6 singles and ended the year paired with junior Rasid Winklaar (Willemstad, Curacao/Abraham Baldwin) at No. 2 doubles. Winklaar and sophomore Gaulthier Berret (Lagny Sur Marne, France/Institute Deschamp) each went 12-3 in singles, primarily playing at No. 2 and No. 5, respectively. Winklaar had UMBC’s longest singles-match winning streak of the year at seven straight. Berret started the season at 5-0 and won the deciding match in 4-3 victories over Old Dominion and Temple. On the women’s side, freshman Kim Berghaus (Offenbach, Germany/Leibnizgymnasium) reached the 20-win mark this spring, posting marks of 10-3 in doubles and 10-5 in singles. Berghaus competed primarily at the No. 1 singles position. Sophomore Julia Gregara-Cano (Badajoz, Spain/Fresno State) tied Berghaus with 10 (10-5) singles victories. The team’s lone senior, Emily Mannix (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough), produced winning marks in both singles (9-7) and doubles (9-6). She has earned America East all-conference honors in all three of her previous campaigns.
Stony Brook University was scheduled to host UMBC on April 23. However, both the men’s and women’s matches were canceled due to rain. Stony Brook women’s tennis team won nine of its final 10 regular-season matches. The Seawolves finished with an overall spring record of 14-4. Junior Salome Mkervalidze (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) went 11-0 in singles action during the spring season, including 8-0 at No. 6. Sophomore Nini Lagvilava (Tbilisi, Georgia/Number 29) went 12-4 in singles action, including 8-4 at No. 1. Sophomore Aylin Mehter (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) combined to win 20 matches between singles and doubles. Mehter went 5-1 at No. 2 singles and combined with junior Prerana Appineni (Hyderabad, India/Vasavi Public) to go 4-2 at No. 1 doubles. The 14 overall wins by the women is the most since 2006-07. The SBU men’s team went 8-10 during the regular season. Freshman Nikita Fomin (Moscow, Russia/Bradenton) went 12-5 in singles in his first year with the Seawolves, including a 10-5 mark at the No. 1 position. The women are looking to win their first-ever America East crown this weekend at the America East Championships while the men will be looking for their first title since 2005-06.
The 2011 America East Tennis Championships will be held at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., April 29-May 1. A preview of the America East Championship will be released Thursday, April 28. For more information on the 2011 America East Tennis Championships, visit Championship Central at AmericaEast.com.