DENVER- NM State singles player Christofer Goncalves and Chicago State singles player Iesha Shepherd, and NM State doubles team Goncalves and Luis Flores and Chicago State doubles team Shepherd and Mariya Kostyuk have been named the Western Athletic Conference Tennis Players of the Month, respectively, for September.
Goncalves, a senior from Barquisimeto, Venezuela, went 9-2 for the month of September. The reigning WAC Player of the Year either won his singles flight or was a co-champion in both tournaments he competed in during the month of September. His only two losses in singles during the month came from top players in the country at the ITA Masters event with one being ranked No. 38th in the country, where he suffered a narrow 7-5, 7-6 loss.
Shepherd, a freshman from Nassau, Bahamas, tallied a 6-2 singles record over three invitational tournaments, which she went undefeated in two of those events. She posted a 3-0 mark to win the White flight title at the CSU Cougar Invite and followed with wins over host University of Illinois at Chicago and Valparaiso at the UIC Fall Invitational. At the Northwestern Classic, Shepherd claimed a victory over a PAC-12 student-athlete from Utah in the first round. She is the first Cougar newcomer under head coach, Jack Barton, to produce the longest winning streak to start a fall season with six wins in a row.
Goncalves and teammate Flores, a sophomore from Toluca, Mexico, won five-straight matches before falling to in-state rival New Mexico's top doubles pair, 6-4, at the Lobo Invitational for their only loss during the month to post a record of 7-1. The pair competed in the top flight in both tournaments as they went undefeated in the Aggie Invitational (4-0) and 3-1 at the Lobo Invitational.
Shepherd and her partner Kostyuk, a senior from Kyiv, Ukraine, posted a 5-5 record during the month of September. They battled opponents from the Horizon League (UIC), ACC (Notre Dame), Big Ten (Michigan and Michigan State), Big East (Marquette) and Missouri Valley (Valparaiso). The duo posted a 2-1 mark in the Green flight to claim second place at the CSU Cougar Invite before sharing the doubles crown at the UIC Fall Invitational. Shepherd and Kostyuk battled at the Northwestern Wildcat Classic's Maroon doubles flight where they opened with a 6-2 victory over Notre Dame and were edged in a close 6-4 semifinal battle with Michigan State. Both players then concluded the tournament with close consolation round defeats to Michigan (6-4) and Marquette (7-5).
Other male singles nominees: Chicago State's Christian Gonzalez produced a 5-1 record over the course of the month and was named to the all-tournament team at the Rocket Invitational… Grand Canyon's Lucas Grego went 3-1 in the Wildcat Invitational competing in flight B and was the only GCU player to make it to the championship round of a singles draw… Kansas City's Airam Castellano went undefeated (3-0) in the ESU Invitational as he competed in Flight 2... UT Rio Grande Valley's Koby Jansen went 4-2 on the month and led his team in singles victories over the opening tournament.
Other female singles nominees: Grand Canyon's Kylie Waschuk went 2-1 at the SDSU Fall Invitational as she competed in Flight C… Kansas City's Katie Fries won Flight 2 at the Emporia State Invitational as she came out 3-0… NM State's Lindsay Harlas came out victorious as she went head-to-head with the top-seeded player from Oklahoma as she went 1-3… Seattle U's Michelle Lui was the first tennis player to get an invitation from her university to compete at the Oracle/ITA Masters Tournament… UT Rio Grande Valley's Dominique Esparza went 2-1 at the St. Mary's Hidden Dual.
Other male doubles nominees: Grand Canyon's Lorenzo Fucile/Mathieu Rajaonah took home the doubles championship at the Wildcat Invitational as they competed in Flight A going 3-0… Kansas City's Airam Castellano/Alex Pozo won Flight 1 at the ESU Invitational… UT Rio Grande Valley's Yehonatan Kaufman/Elliot Johnstone went undefeated to take the championship at the Island Open.
Other female doubles nominee: Grand Canyon's Martina Lo Pumo/Kylie Waschuk competed in the SDSU Fall Invitational and went 1-2… Kansas City's Aliona Ladutska/Grace Ball won Flight 2 at the ESU Invitational… UT Rio Grande Valley's Dominique Esparza/Doris Aleksovska defeated a team from Angelo State on the first day of the St. Mary's Hidden Dual.