DePaul and Villanova Claim BIG EAST Tennis Awards
BIG EAST Men’s Tennis Athlete of the Week
Thomas Dodson, Villanova, So.
The New Jersey native helped the Wildcats clinch their second win of the season over Navy with a three-set win at the No. 5 spot. Locked into the longest battle of the match against Navy’s Andrey Majkic, Dodson pushed for a 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 6-3 giving Villanova, 5-2. Paired with Tommy Mulflur, the sophomore also guided the Wildcats to the doubles point with a win a 6-2 win at the No.3 spot.
BIG EAST Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week
Aspasia Avgeri, DePaul, Fr.
Avgeri won both her singles and doubles matches at home against Kansas State last week. Paired with Florence Abbott at No. 3 doubles, Avgeri claimed a 6-1 win over Iva Bago and Livia Cirnu. She also secured clinched the deciding match point at No. 5 singles over Maria Panaite 7-5, 1-6, 6-2.
Notable Performances
Michaela Henne, Creighton, So.
Henne finished the week 3-0 in singles and 2-1 in doubles play. During three matches in her home state, Henne won each of her singles matches in straight-sets -- twice at the No. 4 position and once at No. 3.
Cecilia Lynham, Georgetown, So.
Going 3-0 on the week, Lynham helped the Hoyas to back-to-back victories against Morgan State (5-2) and George Washington (4-2) last week. The sophomore won a pair of doubles matches and also claimed a 6-3,6-2 win at No.5 singles against GW.
Anna Fajnorova, Seton Hall, So.
The sophomore went undefeated with a pair of victories at No. 1 doubles and No. 2 singles as the Pirates went 1-1 with a 6-1 win over Morgan State and a 4-3 setback at Navy.
Cristina Di Lorenzo, Xavier, Sr.
The senior was the only Musketeer to defeat Princeton in both singles and doubles. Di Lorenzo won 7-5, 6-4 against Princeton’s No. 2 singles. She also secured a victory with partner Lauren Ghidotti shutting out Princeton 6-0 in No.1 doubles.
Jack Dykema, Xavier, So.
Dykema finished 2-0 this past week against Youngstown. The sophomore went 1-0 in No. 2 singles play, winning 6-2, 6-4. While also going 1-0 in No. 2 doubles play with Matthew Graft, winning 6-2.
2017 Tennis Weekly Honors
Men's Tennis: Nathan de Veer, DePaul (Jan. 25, Feb. 15); Alvaro Verdu, Marquette (Feb. 1); Mikheil Khmiadashvili, Butler (Feb.8); Aviv Ben Shabat, Butler (Feb.22); Thomas Dodson, Villanova (March 1)
Women’s Tennis: Risa Takenaka, Providence (Jan. 25); Aspasia Avgeri, DePaul (Feb.1, March. 1); Luize Strike, Seton Hall (Feb.8); Yuliya Shupenia, DePaul (Feb. 15), Jessica Livianu, St. John’s (Feb.22)