Tennis hosts MAC tournament

By Scott Sutton, For The Miami Student

The Miami University tennis team (12-9) prepares for their first matchup of the Mid-American Conference Tournament this weekend, when it will play the winner of the match-up between No. 3 Western Michigan University (17-7) and No. 6 University of Toledo (9-12).

The 'Hawks have received a first round bye due to their 5-2 victory over Western Michigan last weekend. No. 1 Ball State (20-3) ended with the same MAC record, 7-1, as Miami, so they will also receive a first round bye.

Sophomore Hannah Shteyn finished with a 5-3 record in MAC play and is on a three-game winning streak. Shteyn believes she can contribute to her team's success in the tournament in a big way.

"I've been working on playing to my strengths and capitalizing on the aspects of my game that I know work well for me," Shteyn said. "The team will not be changing our style of play very much in the tournament, just trying to work really hard and do the best we can out there."

Three Miami players, first-year Anzhelika Shapovalova, sophomore Nelli Ponomareva and senior Ana Rajkovic received MAC awards. Shapovalova was named to the All-MAC Second-Team for a great rookie season.

Ponomareva was named to the First-Team All-MAC after a 7-1 record in MAC singles play. She also shared a 4-0 doubles record with sophomore Anastasiia Vasiukhina.

Rajkovic was honored with the Leann Grimes Davidge Sportsmanship Award, which is awarded each season to a dominant senior athlete. She finished with an 11-10 overall record, along with a 4-1 record in MAC play, those wins coming in a four-match winning streak.

First-year Emily Struble has been a standout for the RedHawks, and is 28-8 overall, 17-3 in dual matches, and 8-0 in MAC play. She was named Miami's athlete of the week this past week.

"It is a complete honor to be celebrated like that," Struble said. "I am just doing all that I can to contribute to the team and put us in the best position in winning. Our preparation for the tournament has stayed the same, very intense and very focused."

The quarterfinals begin with No. 4 seed Akron facing No. 5 Buffalo on Friday at Miami University. Miami will face either Toledo or Western Michigan at 2 p.m. Saturday.