Men's and Women's Tennis Weekly Honors - March 6
Rob Washburn
RICHMOND, Va. (March 6, 2019) – The CAA has recognized six men’s and women’s tennis players for impressive performances last week.
James Madison sophomore
Gonzalo Adis (Escazu, San Jose, Costa Rica) and the William & Mary duo of junior
Brenden Volk (Dix Hills, N.Y.) and sophomore
Chen Ruo (Zheijang, China) received CAA men’s tennis honors. Earning accolades on the women’s side were William & Mary freshman
Mila Saric (Los Cristianos-Arona, Tenerife, Spain) and the Tribe tandem of senior
Clara Tanielian (Ensues-la-Redonne, France) and sophomore
Vitoria Okuyama (Arapongas, Parana, Brazil).
Adis was chosen as the CAA men’s tennis Player of the Week after going 4-0 in singles and 3-0 in doubles in JMU’s 3-1 week. Playing at No. 3 singles, he rolled past Howard’s Karim Shokeir, 6-3, 6-4, and Coppin State’s Sam Scala-McNeill, 6-2, 6-0, in the Dukes’ 7-0 team triumphs. The sophomore moved to the No. 5 flight against UNCG and CAA foe Charleston and pulled out a pair of three-set wins. He edged UNCG’s Ian Melnik, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (2) and then got past Charleston’s Ksawery Pociej, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (1) to earn the final point in the Dukes’ 5-2 triumph over the Cougars. In addition to his success in singles, Adis and partner William Karpinski were unbeaten at No. 2 doubles, including a 6-3 win over 37
th-ranked Benedikt Henning and Johnny Wang of Charleston.
Volk and Ruo were recognized as the CAA men’s Doubles Team of the Week after clinching the doubles point in William & Mary’s 5-2 setback to ACC foe Virginia Tech. The duo upset 25
th-ranked Henrik Korsgaard and Alex Riberiro, 6-4, at the No. 1 slot. It was the second victory over a nationally ranked squad for Volk and Ruo, who evened their dual-match record at 3-3.
Saric was selected as the CAA women’s tennis Player of the Week after extending her winning streak to four with a pair of victories. Competing at the No. 3 slot, she clinched W&M’s 4-2 triumph over Big Ten foe Maryland by outlasting the Terps’ Anastasia Gevel, 6-2, 4-6, 6-0. The freshman followed with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Hannah Davies of Memphis, which put the Tribe up 2-1 in the match. For the season, Saric is 8-2 in dual-match competition.
Tanielian and Okuyama were honored as the CAA women’s Doubles Team of the Week after clinching the doubles point in both of the Tribe’s matches last week. Competing at the No. 1 slot, the duo defeated Maryland’s Eva Alexandrova and Millie Stretton, 6-4. They followed with another 6-4 triumph over Alisha Reayer and Aleks Topalovic of Memphis. Tanielian and Okuyama are 4-0 at the No. 1 position and have clinched the doubles point in three of the past four matches.