Tennis Weekly Honors: Mar. 22
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Co-Players of the Week
Toby Samuel, South Carolina
Samuel, against No. 45 LSU, clinched the doubles point alongside partner Connor Thomson with a 6-4 win from the No. 1 position. In singles, Samuel again played at the top spot of the lineup where he took down No. 55 Ronald Hohmann in straight sets 7-5, 6-1. Against No. 14 Mississippi State, Samuel and Thomson again recorded a win from the No. 1 position, defeating No. 26 Carles Hernandez and Nemanja Malesevic with a dominating 6-1 performance. In singles, Samuel went on earn another dominating win, taking down No. 125 Malesevic 6-2, 6-2. Samuel is now 19-3 overall in singles with a 14-2 mark in dual play including a 4-1 record against SEC opponents.
Johannus Monday, Tennessee
Monday, began his stellar weekend by earning a win atop the singles lineup over Alabama's Filip Planinsek, 6-3, 7-6(3). On Saturday, Monday followed that up with an impressive, straight-set singles victory over the nation's then-second-ranked Ethan Quinn, winning 6-2, 6-2, at the No. 1 lineup position. The rout marked Monday's 10th (10-1) at the No. 1 singles spot this dual season as he improved to 13-1 in overall singles play this spring. Monday has won 10 consecutive singles matches, including a 5-0 start to SEC singles action. On the doubles courts, Monday was 1-1 on the weekend, defeating Enzo Aguiard and Filip Planinsek of Alabama on court one, 6-3 alongside Pat Harper. Is 13-1 in singles and 12-2 on the doubles courts this spring.
Co-Freshmen of the Week
Benito Sanchez Martinez, Mississippi State
Martinez, 6-3, 6-4 straight-set win over No. 83 Casey Hoole clinched the highest-ranked win in program history against No. 2 South Carolina. It was the second straight weekend that Sanchez Martinez has earned a singles victory over a ranked opponent. Sanchez Martinez also teamed with fellow freshman Michal Novansky to defeat Hoole and Raphael Lambling 6-4 to earn the Bulldogs' first doubles victory of the day. The Potsdam, Germany native has won nine of his last 11 singles matches and is now 14-4 during dual match play and 17-7 overall this season.
Petar Jovanovic, Mississippi State
Jovanovic, teamed with partner Ewen Lumsden for just the third time this spring and clinched the doubles point against South Carolina's 22nd-ranked tandem of Jake Beasley and James Story in a tiebreaker 7-6(1). Jovanovic also earned a 6-2, 6-4 singles victory over Lambling, who was ranked 84th, to give the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead. The native of Podgorica, Montenegro is tied for the team lead in both singles and doubles victories. Jovanovic is 19-7 overall in singles play and boasts a 14-8 mark in doubles action. Jovanovic's two victories against the second-ranked Gamecocks helped MSU secure its highest-ranked victory in program history.
WOMEN
Player of the Week
Rebeka Mertena, Tennessee
Mertena, shined once again in Tennessee's dominant weekend against Auburn and Alabama. She notched yet another ranked victory in singles and is just one away from 100 total singles wins in her career at UT. It wasn't singles play where the impact was felt the most from the Lady Vols' highest-ranked singles player, it was her doubles. She teamed up with Esther Adeshina and won a pair of ranked showdowns on Court 1, helping Tennessee jump start its momentum which would carry through to singles play. The wins marked the first time this season that Mertena faced a ranked doubles opponent in each match over a given weekend and she handled the test with class, earning 6-4 victories against Auburn's No. 20 team of Ansari and Arseneault and Alabama's No. 58 Bencheikh and Hiser. She currently ranks No. 34 in singles, highest on the team, and has climbed up the doubles charts to No. 39, being the only ranked doubles pair on the Lady Vols' squad.
Freshman of the Week
Mia Kuprees, Texas A&M
Kuprees, in the opening match of the week, had a shift around in doubles now playing with Mary Stoiana, and in doing so moved from playing court 3 doubles up to court 2 doubles. The match with LSU's Kylie Collins/Nina Geissler, went to a tiebreaker (6-6(1-1)) but was left unfinished due to the doubles point being clinched. In singles No. 106 Kupres went to work as she outlasted Geissler in a three-set match on court 3, she went down in the first set but won the next two sets, and ultimately the match (5-7, 6-1, 6-1). This win was number 12 on the season, and secured her three-match win streak. In the team's second match of the week, they hosted a one of the premier teams in the nation, Miami. In singles Kupres put on an incredible display over Pfennig again on court 3 (7-6(3), 6-4). She secured the second point in this match which helped flip the momentum for the Maroon & White as they dropped the doubles point. Kupres now holds a 13-1 singles record and is on a four-match win streak following the Miami match, her 13 wins in dual match singles play lead all other players in the Southeastern Conference.