Tennis Weekly Honors - Mar. 20
RICHMOND, Va. (March 20, 2012) -
The CAA has recognized six men's and women's tennis players for outstanding
performances last week.
Old Dominion senior Krzysztof Muzalewski (Turin, Poland) and
the UNCW duo of junior Kosta Blank
(Kfar Sava, Israel) and junior Chris
Cooprider (Denver, Colo.) earned CAA men's tennis honors for the week
ending March 18. Receiving honors on the women's side were Georgia State junior
Whitney Byrd (Atlanta, Ga.) and the
William & Mary tandem of sophomores Jeltje
Loomans (Houten, The Netherlands) and Maria
Belaya (Melbourne, Fla.).
Muzalewski was chosen as the CAA
men's tennis Player of the Week after posting a 6-4, 6-3 victory over 118th-ranked
Ivan Turudic of Penn in the Monarchs' 4-3 team triumph over the Quakers. It was
the first win this season for Muzalewski over a nationally ranked opponent and
was the difference in an impressive team victory.
Blank and Cooprider were honored
as the CAA men's Doubles Team of the Week after going 3-0 at No. 1 doubles last
week. The duo, which is ranked 70th nationally by the ITA, defeated
North Florida's Daniel Sotomarino and Norbert Nemcsek, 8-6, beat Jordan Kelly
and Blake Davis of 30th-ranked Florida State, 8-4, and posted an 8-4
triumph over UTSA's Pedro Zanatelli and Yanick Younger. Blank and Cooprider
improved to 10-3 overall this season.
Byrd was named the CAA women's
tennis Player of the Week after pulling out a three-set victory at No. 3
singles in GSU's narrow 4-3 loss at 35th-ranked South Carolina. Byrd
outlasted USC's Dominika Kanakova, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-2 for her third straight
victory. She improved her season record to 7-5.
Loomans and Belaya were tabbed
as the CAA women's Doubles Team of the Week once again after knocking off their
third Top 25 nationally ranked opponent of the season. The duo, which is ranked
No. 39 in the nation, defeated 16th-ranked Li Xi and Emily Fraser of
#6 Virginia, 8-7 (7-4). Loomans and Belaya have won nine straight matches and
are 16-5 overall for the season.