TicketSmarter WAC Tennis Athletes of the Week Announced
DENVER – Grand Canyon's Valentin Lang, NM State's Gavi Kalaga, Grand Canyon doubles team Freddie Grant and Loic Van Zeggelaar and NM State doubles team Kalaga and Harsha Challa have been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Tennis Athletes of the Week for April 7 through April 12.
Lang, a senior from Mulhous, France, finished the WAC regular season with a statement as he did not drop a game in his fourth straight win of the season. He defeated Seattle U's Eli Ogilvy in top-flight action on Saturday, winning 6-0, 6-0. Lang now leads the Lopes with five singles wins and concludes WAC play as the lone men's player to post a perfect record at the No. 1 spot.
Grant, a senior from Surrey, England, and Van Zeggelaar, a freshman from Roquefort-les-Pins, France, clinched the doubles point as the duo took down Seattle U's Mats Krause and Billy Givens-Jensen (6-1). With the win, Grant and Zeggelaar finished the WAC season with an undefeated 3-0 record and are riding a four match win streak.
Kalaga, a junior from Bhubaneswar, India, collected her team-best ninth singles win as she earned a hard-fought victory over Northern Arizona's Ava Neyestani (7-6 (3-1), 6-1). Kalaga was also on the verge of defeating UTEP's Katheen Percegona before the match was clinched by the Miners.
Kalaga and Challa, a junior from Hyderabad, India, extended their winning streak in doubles play to three matches as they defeated Northern Arizona's top pairing. The duo prevailed over the Lumberjacks' Ellie Millard and Mimi Bland on Friday by a score of 6-4.
Other men's singles nominees: Chicago State's Pedro Alvarez took down NM State's Jordy Visser to claim his ninth-straight singles victory… NM State's Nicolas Buitrago helped the Aggies clinch a share of the WAC title as he won his sixth-straight singles match.
Other men's doubles nominees: Chicago State's Javier Sanchez and Pedro Alvarez earned a 6-4 win over NM State's Martin Simecek and Corey Clarke to notch the Cougars' lone doubles win against the Aggies.
Other women's singles nominees: Dixie State's Kyra Harames took down Weber State's Yuuna Ukita at the No. 1 spot to earn the Trailblazers' only point against the Wildcats.
Other women's doubles nominees: Dixie State's Juliana Honczaruk and Rachel Mellor pushed Weber State's doubles team of Sicely Ferreira and Megan Davies but ultimately fell 4-6.