This week's Missouri Valley Conference tennis athletes of the week include Tijana Zlatanovic of Illinois State and the doubles tandem of Madalena Andrade and Kirstin Hailey of Bradley.
Singles:
Tijana Zlatanovic, So., Salzburg, Austria, Illinois State
Tijana Zlatanovic remained undefeated in conference play with two more wins at the No. 1 spot for the Redbirds last week. In Saturday’s match at Drake, Zlatanovic defeated Liza Petushkova in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 to pick up a crucial point for the Redbirds. The next day at UNI, she bested Darta Dalecka in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (2-0) to move to 4-0 in MVC singles action this season and improve her career record to 9-0 at the No. 1 spot for ISU in MVC play. Overall, Zlatanovic has won her last five singles matches.
Doubles:
Madalena Andrade, Sophomore, Torres Vedras, Portugal/Alabama State, Bradley
Kirstin Hailey, Freshman, Clinton, MA/The Advanced Math and Science Academy, Bradley
Madalena Andrade/Kirstin Hailey went 2-0 on the weekend at No. 1 Doubles, the only No. 1 pair to pick up two wins in Missouri Valley Conference action. Both of their victories, 6-0 against UNI and 6-2 against Drake, put Bradley up 1-0 in the doubles points. The No. 1 pair from Drake were coming off a victory against ISU, the best No. 1 tandem by record in The Valley. Andrade/Hailey picked up win numbers eight and nine this dual match season. Their nine wins at No. 1 Doubles are fourth most in Bradley Tennis history for No. 1 Doubles wins by a pair in a season. Their three wins at the top spot this season are tied with the aforementioned Illinois State pair, who went 1-1 on the weekend, for the most No. 1 Doubles wins in Valley play.
OTHERS CONSIDERED
Singles:
Mille Haagensen, Fr., Oslo, Norway, Drake
In addition to her winning streak in doubles play, she is also on a four game win streak in singles play. She went 2-0 over the weekend, defeating her opponent from Illinois State 6-1, 4-6, 7-6. She then defeated her opponent from Bradley 6-4, 6-3.
Nikki Perlwitz, Senior, Weston Florida/Cypress Bay High School, Bradley
Nikki Perlwitz continued her undefeated run in Missouri Valley Conference singles action at 4-0 and has won nine of her last eleven matches, splitting time between the Nos. 5 and 6 spots. Both of her wins this weekend were at No. 6 Singles. Perlwitz's win against Drake gave her victories against both of The Valley's top two teams, ISU and Drake, this season. She is now in a tie with teammate Bozana Lojpur for the fifth most singles wins in Bradley Tennis history with 63.
Mara Presot, Sr., Paderno Dugnano, Milan, Italy, Missouri State
· Mara Presot earned a win against Valparaiso over the weekend playing in the No. 4 Flight for the Bears. The senior defeated the Beacon’s Demi Jhaveri in a come-from-behind nail biter. Presot won in three sets (3-6, 7-6 (4-0), 10-7) for her second singles victory of the season.
Doubles:
Olivia Czerwonka, Jr., Valparaiso (Kenosha, Wis.)
Claire Czerwonka, 5th, Valparaiso (Kenosha, Wis.)
Claire and Olivia Czerwonka climbed into fifth place in single-season program history by obtaining their 18th doubles win of the year in Saturday's 6-1 victory at Missouri State. Their one-sided 6-1 triumph over Kate MIley and Sandra Lukacova at No. 1 doubles helped Valpo down the Bears in the team score by that same count of 6-1, flipping a 5-2 setback from last season's match between the two teams. The victory over the Bears helped the Beacons clinch their highest conference-only win total since 2007. Claire became the first player in program history to reach the 70-win milestone in her doubles career, while Olivia ranks ninth in program history with 43 career doubles successes.
Mille Haagensen/Darinka Stepan, Drake
The Bulldogs duo is on a six match win streak after defeating opponents from both Illinois State and Bradley over the weekend. They defeated both opponents 6-3. Their winning streak dated back to March 17.
Penelope Abreu, Sr., Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Maria Potsi, Sr., Athens, Greece, Illinois State
The No. 2 duo of Penelope Abreu and Maria Potsi moved their winning streak to five matches with a pair of key doubles wins for the Redbirds last weekend. On Saturday at Drake, they picked up the lone doubles win for the Redbirds with a 7-5 defeat of Ines Stephani and Rebecca Ehn. Then on Sunday, the duo rolled to a 6-2 win over UNI’s Thaissa Moreira and Olivia Fain to help secure the doubles point and eventually a 5-2 match win for ISU. The pair is now 4-0 in MVC play and 8-4 overall on the season.