This week's MVC tennis players of the week are Bozana Lojpur of Bradley and doubles tandem Madalena Andrade and Kirstin Hailey of Bradley.
Singles Player of the Week
Bozana Lojpur, Bradley, Sr., Burnaby, Canada/Burnaby Mountain Secondary School
Lojpur was the only No. 1 Player in the Missouri Valley Conference with two singles wins last week and the only undefeated No. 1 Singles player against Division I competition as she piloted Bradley Tennis to a 2-0 weekend against Omaha and Eastern Illinois Saturday. Against the Mavericks, Lojpur faced Madison Gallegos, previously 2-2 at the No. 1 Singles spot including a straight set win over Mary Houston of Missouri State in Springfield. Omaha was previously 5-1 on the season, including wins against the Bears and Northern Iowa. Against Eastern Illinois, Lojpur took down Rachel Papavasilopulos, a 2021 Ohio Valley Conference First Team honoree who also defeated Gallegos earlier in the day.
Doubles Team of the Week
Madalena Andrade, Bradley, So., Torres Vedras, Portugal/Alabama State
Kirstin Hailey, Fr., Clinton, MA/The Advanced Math and Science Academy
Newcomers Madalena Andrade/Kirstin Hailey played pivotal roles in Bradley's victories against Omaha and Eastern Illinois, securing two triumphs at the No. 1 Doubles spot. The tandem were the only MVC No. 1 Doubles Team to record two wins against Division I opponents and the only No. 1 Doubles team that aided two doubles point victories. Omaha entered the contest 5-1 as a team and in doubles point competition, including no losses at the No. 1 spot before Andrade/Hailey changed that with a 6-1 trouncing of the Mavericks. It was more of the same against Eastern Illinois, with the duo recording a 6-4 victory, clinching the doubles point en route to a 4-2 match win.
Others Considered
Singles
Amanda Tabanera, Jr., Valparaiso (Valencia, Calif.)
Amanda Tabanera enjoyed a 2-0 week at No. 3 singles to extend her strong start to the spring season. She prevailed in all four sets this week, besting Purdue Northwest's Nicole Uzcategui 6-4, 6-0 on Saturday to help the Beacons to a 7-0 victory before accounting for the team's only point in a 6-1 setback vs. Eastern Michigan on Sunday. In Sunday's match, Tabanera dispatched Isabelle Popma 6-1, 6-2 in the first singles match to finish. The Valpo junior has now rattled off three straight wins and owns a 7-1 record in her last eight matches with the lone loss coming in three tight sets.
Kate Miley, Missouri State, Fr., Tulsa, Okla.
Went 2-0 over the weekend for the Bears and was the only MSU player to win both of her weekend matches. Against SEMO, Miley won her first match 7-5, 7-6(2) playing in the Flight 6 against Teona Velkoska. Against Arkansas State Miley handily won her match (6-2, 6-2) playing in Flight 6 against Rebecca Brody
Tara Damnjanovic, Illinois State, Jr., Valjevo, Serbia
Damnjanovic picked up a much-needed win for the Redbirds in their match at UIC. In the No. 4 spot, Damnjanovic handled UIC’s Marina Hermanny de Figueiredo with relative ease 6-3, 6-2 to secure a crucial point for the Redbirds.
Doubles Teams
Olivia Czerwonka, Jr., Valparaiso (Kenosha, Wis.)
Claire Czerwonka, R-Sr., Valparaiso (Kenosha, Wis.)
Sisters Claire and Olivia Czerwonka enjoyed a 2-0 week at No. 1 doubles, extending their doubles winning streak to nine and improving to 7-0 in dual matches this season. The sisters started the weekend by rolling past Purdue Northwest's No. 1 doubles team of Sienna Lopez and Hayley Tsuen in a 6-0 whitewash. Lopez was a first-team all-conference performer last season. The wins kept coming on Sunday as the Czerwonka sisters topped Eastern Michigan's No. 1 doubles combo of Isabelle Popma and Vasavi Ganesan in a 7-6(5) thriller. Popma and Ganesan won four Mid-American Conference Doubles Team of the Week awards last season. With her wins this weekend, Olivia moved into the top 10 in program history for career doubles triumphs (37), while Claire's career total of 64 is already the program record.
Tijana Zlatanovic, Illinois State, So., Salzburg, Austria
Tara Damnjanovic, Illinois State, Jr., Valjevo, Serbia
The Redbirds No. 1 doubles team of Tara Damnjanovic and Tijana Zlatanovic helped ISU pick up the crucial early doubles point in their match on Sunday at UIC. The reigning No. 1 MVC Doubles Team of the Year improved to 5-2 this spring with their 6-4 defeat of UIC’s Agnes Gustafsson and Ana Jover.