Tennis Weekly Honors: Apr. 5
MEN
Player of the Week
Emile Hudd, Tennessee
Hudd, clinched Tennessee's 4-0 win over No. 4 Kentucky Sunday, capping his 4-0 weekend that included a trio of ranked wins. Hudd took down Kentucky's 27th-ranked Alafia Ayeni at the No. 2 singles lineup position in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(5), to give the Vols their first top-five win of the season. In doubles against the Wildcats, Hudd teamed up with Shunsuke Mitsui to clinch the doubles point and take down the No. 38 pairing of Joshua Lapadat and JJ Mercer on court two, 7-5. In Tennessee's 5-2 win Friday over No. 12 Mississippi State, Hudd and Mitsui trounced the 74th-ranked doubles pair of Ewen Lumsden and Petar Jovanovic, 6-0, at the No. 2 spot. That effort was followed by a straight-set singles victory over the Bulldogs' Petar Jovanovic, 6-1, 7-6(7), on court two. At 23-4 on the doubles courts this season, Hudd is 17-3 in dual doubles action. He is riding a career-best 13-match doubles winning streak-dating to Feb. 17. Hudd is 8-2 (5-2 SEC) at the No. 2 singles spot this spring and 15-3 (8-0 SEC) at the No. 2 doubles position this season.
Freshman of the Week
Ethan Quinn, Georgia
Quinn, went a perfect 4-0 across singles and doubles this past weekend on court one, clinching the team's win over No. 4 Kentucky and helping to confirm a sweep of No. 59 Arkansas on the road. Beginning in doubles on Friday, Quinn along with partner Trent Bryde found themselves down 5-3 in a breaker against UK's 22nd-ranked Alafia Ayeni and Taha Baddi. The pair pulled off an extraordinary come from behind win to force the deciding match for the doubles point onto court three after winning five of the next six points. In singles, No. 4 Quinn faced another tall challenge, taking on the Wildcats' No. 22 Liam Draxl on court one. He earned a straight set win over Draxl, 7-6(3), 7-6(2), clinching the victory for Georgia and giving the team its highest-ranked win this year. Bryde and Quinn took their fourth-consecutive match together with a 6-2 win over the Razorbacks' Adrien Burdet and Melvin Manuel, picking up their 10th victory on court one. No. 4 Quinn then earned his seventh straight set win of the spring with a 6-4, 6-4 decision over Stefanos Savva, helping lead the team to its second sweep of the season. Quinn is 7-1 against SEC foes and is tied for the fourth-most ranked singles wins in the SEC during the dual match season with six and holds 14 this year, including nine against players ranked in the top 40.
WOMEN
Player of the Week
Mary Stoiana, Texas A&M
Stoiana, dominated UT's then-No. 49 Elza Tomase on court 1 (6-1, 6-2) on Friday. The Aggies came away with a pair of victories to take the lone first overall spot in the league. The second match of the week was a top-five nationally ranked matchup to decide the top spot in the SEC, as both teams were undefeated in conference play. The teams found themselves tied in doubles, as they split courts 1 and 3, but Stoiana and partner Mia Kupres bested Georgia's then-No. 31 Guillermina Grant/Mai Nirundornon court 2 (6-3), securing the doubles point for the Aggies and their third straight doubles win. With the match tied, Stoiana on court 1, was locked into a top-10 ranked singles match with then-No. 8 Lea Ma. She won in straight-sets, ending the match in a second set tiebreaker, which regained the lead, 3-2, and set the team up to clinch the match. She now boasts a 15-1 record, while currently on a 10-match win streak. In doubles she remains undefeated on the season in two separate pairing, totaling at 12-0. She also remains tied for second in the conference in total dual match wins, while also being undefeated in both singles and doubles during conference play.
Freshman of the Week
Mia Kupres, Texas A&M
Kupres, battled then-No. 39 Daria Kuczer, rallying back (5-7, 6-3, 6-4) to claim the fifth ranked win of her career and finish out the match with the Volunteers', 6-1. On Sunday, in doubles the teams were split one court each, leaving Kupres/Stoiana as the deciding match versus Georgia's then-No. 31 Guillermina Grant/Mai Nirundorn. The pair put on a dominating performance as they claimed their third straight win, and second straight ranked win, as they closed out the match 6-3 to claim the doubles point. Going into singles with the advantage the Bulldogs level the score at two, and then regained the advantage to lead, 3-2. With both remaining matches going to a third and final set, then-No. 100 Kupres stepped up to the plate as she faced her second top-60 ranked opponent of the week in then-No. 60 Mell Reasco. The pair split opening sets and were locked into a third set tiebreaker on court 3, with the match on the line Kupres stepped up tom the plate winning the breaker and match (7-6(3), 3-6, 7-6(1)). Her win clinched the top spot in the SEC, extending Texas A&M's win streak to 13 and holds a perfect 9-0 record in the conference.