Elon's Felipe Osses-Konig
Men's and Women's Tennis Weekly Honors - Jan. 30
Rob Washburn
RICHMOND, Va. (January 30, 2019) – The CAA has recognized six men’s and women’s tennis players for outstanding performances over the first two weeks of the 2019 season.
Elon senior
Felipe Osses-Konig (Rego Park, N.Y) and the James Madison duo of junior
Paul Mendoza (Midlothian, Va.) and junior
Tate Steinour (Hilton Head, S.C.) earned CAA men’s tennis honors. Receiving accolades on the women’s side were College of Charleston senior
Turner Yates (Ridgeland, Miss.) and the William & Mary tandem of junior
Natalia Perry (Export, Pa.) and freshman
Mila Saric (Los Cristianos-Arona, Tenerife, Spain).
Osses-Konig was selected as the CAA men’s tennis Player of the Week after opening the season with a 4-0 record in singles, including a pair of wins over ACC opponents. The senior started the year by beating Duke’s Jason Lapidus, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 5 singles as the Phoenix dropped a close 4-3 decision to the Blue Devils. He followed with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Appalachian State’s Alex Pavkovich at No. 2 and a 6-2, 6-0 triumph over North Carolina A&T’s Vasil Ivanov at No. 1 in a pair of team victories. Osses-Konig capped his impressive month by defeating Clemson’s Yizhou Liu, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 3 as Elon knocked off the Tigers, 5-2. It was Elon’s first win over an ACC opponent since 2014.
Mendoza and Steinour were honored as the CAA men’s Doubles Team of the Week after going 2-0 at No. 1 doubles. They topped East Carolina’s Vlad Anghel and Wisse Jonker, 6-3, in a close 4-3 team setback to the Pirates, and beat The Citadel’s Willem van Zyl and Gavin Stewart, 6-3, as JMU swept the Bulldogs, 7-0.
Yates was named the CAA women’s tennis Player of the Week following several strong performances to open the spring campaign. Playing at No. 5 singles, the senior rolled past USC Upstate’s Elin Hellberg, 6-0, 6-2, and also clinched the doubles points in a tiebreaker as the Cougars posted a narrow 4-3 team victory. She took the opening set from 98
th-ranked Peyton Pesavento of Wake Forest before falling 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. Yates split sets with Ally Miller-Krasilnikov of ACC foe Clemson, losing the first, 6-3, and winning the second, 6-1, before the match was called.
Perry and Saric were chosen as the CAA women’s Doubles Team of the Week after going 4-0 at the No. 3 doubles position to start the spring season. The pair defeated Richmond’s Lyndell Giffenig and Helene Heiberg, 6-2, in a 6-1 team victory and followed with a 6-3 triumph against Winthrop’s Tayla Van Eck and Ellie Burns. They helped secure the doubles point in a match against Big 12 foe Kansas State with a 6-3 victory over Ioana Gheorghita and Karine-Marion Job, and topped USF’s Laura Pellicer Perello and Janvhi Clark, 6-2.