Marquette, Seton Hall Seniors Secure #BEtennis Weekly Awards
NEW YORK – Marquette senior Alvaro Verdu and Seton Hall veteran Anicka Fajnorova have been honored as the BIG EAST Tennis Players of the Week. Both players went undefeated in singles and doubles over the weekend. The Golden Eagles defeated Youngstown State and conference foe, Villanova, while the Pirates were victorious in three matches against Fairleigh Dickinson and BIG EAST opponents Butler and Providence. This is the first recognition for each athlete this season.
BIG EAST Male Athlete of the Week
Alvaro Verdu, Marquette, Sr. (Elda, Spain)
Verdu went 4-0 in his weekend matches at No. 1 singles and doubles to help Marquette sweep Villanova and Youngstown State at home. He teamed up with Brett Meyers to take down Wildcats Tyler Roth and Thomas Dodson on the top doubles court, 6-4. Verdu defeated Stefan Suarez 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1 singles. He and Meyers partnered again versus YSU’s Danylo Veremeichuk and Joao Garretto to take the No. 1 doubles match, 6-2. Verdu battled Veremeichuk at the top spot in singles for a three-set win, 6-0, 3-6, 6-3.
BIG EAST Female Athlete of the Week
Anicka Fajnorova, Seton Hall, Sr. (Bratislava, Slovakia)
Fajnorova collected a 6-0 record at No. 1 singles and doubles during the Pirates’ three sweeps against Butler, Providence and Fairleigh Dickinson. She started off with a doubles win with Regina Pitts over the Wildcats Emily Neal and Sarah Linn, 6-2, at No. 1. She won the tiebreaker over Neal at the top spot in singles, 7-6, 2-6, 1-0 (5). On the No. 1 doubles court, Fajnorova and Pitts combined to defeat Friars Risa Takenaka and Aidan Epstein, 6-1. She also beat Takenaka in the top singles spot, dropping only one game, 6-1, 6-0. Her winning streak stayed alive with victories at No. 1 doubles and singles. She and Pitts defeated FDU’s Aleksandra Vorozheikina and Marta Ruszczynska, 6-3, and she topped Ruszczynska, 6-3, 6-2 in singles.