TicketSmarter WAC Tennis Women’s and Men’s Athletes of the Week Announced
Arlington, Texas – Tarleton’s women’s singles player Emma Persson and UT Arlington’s women’s doubles team Tara Gorinsek and Ana Paula Jimenez have been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Women’s Tennis Players of the Week. UT Arlington’s men’s singles player Anton Shepp and UTRGV’s men’s doubles team Emilien Burnel and Borna Devald have been named the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Players of the Week, for the competition week ending on Mar. 21.
Persson, a freshman from Båstad, Sweden, went 3-0 this week with wins over the top players from Drake, UTRGV and UT Arlington. Persson went 3-0 at No. 1, with straight set wins over both of her WAC opponents. Persson defeated Drake’s No. 1 Ines Stephani 4-6 6-2 6-2 on Tuesday and went on to defeat UTRGV’s No. 1 Isabelle Bahr 6-3 6-4 on Friday and UT Arlington’s No. 1 Liz Chileno 6-3 6-3 on Sunday. Persson is now 11-2 in singles overall, all matches played in the top two flights and has won 11 of her last 12 singles matches.
Gorinsek, a sophomore from Slovenske Konjice, Slovenia, and Jimenez, a sophomore from Guayaquil, Ecuador, have been the primary No. 1 doubles team for the Mavericks, holding a 7-4 record. The duo is coming off two wins over conference opponents Abilene Christian and Tarleton State and captured a huge win over Arkansas State.
Shepp, a sophomore from Hamilton, New Zealand, holds a 10-3 record as the primary No. 1 player for the Mavericks. He has earned wins over Lamar, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UT San Antonio and Gonzaga. Shepp is coming off a straight set win over Wichita State, which contributed to UTA’s first win over Wichita State since 2017.
Burnel, a junior from La Teste De Bush, France, and Devald, a sophomore from Zagreb, Croatia, extended the duo’s winning streak to five matches with a win in UTRGV’s lone match last week. Playing in the No. 1 flight, Burnel and Devald dominated UC Irvine’s top duo of Brandon Park and Noah Zamora for a 6-0 win to help the Vaqueros claim the doubles point in the match. The duo is 8-2 this spring.
2023 TicketSmarter WAC Tennis Weekly Awards
WAC Women's Tennis Singles Player of the Week
Emma Persson, Tarleton (Mar. 22)
Ksenia Mamontova, Stephen F. Austin (Mar. 15)
Madeline Lamoreaux, Grand Canyon (Mar. 10)
Santa Strombacha, Grand Canyon (Feb. 22)
Emma Persson, Tarleton (Feb. 15)
Martha Makantasi, Tarleton (Feb. 7)
Martha Makantasi, Tarleton (Jan. 31)
Isabelle Bahr, UTRGV (Jan. 24)
WAC Women's Tennis Doubles Players of the Week
Tara Gorinsek and Paula Jimenez, UT Arlington (Mar. 22)
Martha Makantasi and Clara Sobius, Tarleton (Mar. 15)
Natasha Puehse and Santa Strombacha, Grand Canyon (Mar. 10)
Natasha Puehse and Santa Strombacha, Grand Canyon (Feb. 22)
Natasha Puehse and Santa Strombacha, Grand Canyon (Feb. 15)
Ximena Morales and Laure Razet, Tarleton (Feb. 7)
Natasha Puehse and Santa Strombacha, Grand Canyon (Jan. 31)
Isabelle Bahr and Yaiza Vazquez, UTRGV (Jan. 24)
WAC Men's Tennis Singles Player of the Week
Anton Shepp, UT Arlington (Mar. 22)
Daniel Morozov, Abilene Christian (Mar. 15)
Emilien Burnel, UTRGV (Mar. 10)
Emilien Burnel, UTRGV (Feb. 22)
Jonathan Da Silva, Grand Canyon (Feb. 15)
Emilien Burnel, UTRGV (Feb. 7)
Chris Lawrance, UTRGV (Jan. 31)
Martim Marujo, Grand Canyon (Jan. 24)
WAC Men's Tennis Doubles Players of the Week
Emilien Burnel and Borna Devald, UTRGV (Mar. 22)
Emilien Burnel and Borna Devald, UTRGV (Mar. 15)
Veselin Kiselkov and Clement Hamel, Seattle U (Mar. 10)
Dario Kmet and Daniel Morozov, Abilene Christian (Feb. 22)
William Alsterback and Alfred Almasi, Grand Canyon (Feb. 15)
Emilien Burnel and Borna Devald, UTRGV (Jan. 24)