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Women’s Tennis Selected To Win 2020 MAC Regular Season
1/16/2020 12:54:00 PM | Women's Tennis
CLEVELAND, OH – The University at Buffalo women's tennis team has been picked to win the 2020 Mid-American Conference Regular Season, the league office announced on Thursday afternoon. The preseason poll was voted on by the head coaches.
It was extremely close at the top as the Bulls narrowly surpassed Miami (OH) for the top spot by just one point. Buffalo received 77 points and five first place votes, while the RedHawks finished with 76 points and four first place votes. As hosts of the upcoming conference Tournament, Miami was picked to win the postseason tournament with seven votes, while Buffalo received the other two.
"To have so much youth on this team, it is very humbling for the coaches across this league to recognize what we are building at Buffalo," said head coach Kristen Maines. "I am so excited for this spring season to begin and I know our student athletes are as well. The MAC continues to be one of the most competitive leagues across the country, so if we want to live up to this recognition, we know we will have to fight both physically and mentally on the court each and every day."
Buffalo returns five players from last season, led by second-team All-MAC selection sophomore Pia Schwarz, who finished with a 7-3 record in the fall. Senior Emel Abibula returns for her fourth season and she had an outstanding fall with a 7-2 mark. Also returning from last year's squad are sophomores Nikoleta Antoniou-Karademitrou and Hsin-Yuan Shih, who each picked up five wins this fall.
Five fresh faces joined the squad this fall as the Bulls were led in wins by junior Gabriella Akopyan, who went 8-2. Freshman Azra Deniz Comlek went 6-2, while fellow freshman Ambre Amat also picked up six wins in fall competition.
Freshmen Lolina Schietekat Sedas and Alexis Tensfeldt round out a squad with a ton of depth.
Following Buffalo and Miami (OH) in the preseason poll is Ball State, who was picked to finish third with 59 points. Akron was picked to finish fourth, while Western Michigan was picked fifth. Rounding out the bottom four is Toledo, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, and Northern Illinois.
The Bulls kickoff the spring season on Friday, Jan. 31 with a pair of matches at Miller Tennis Center. UB will face St. Bonaventure at 1pm and Niagara at 7pm. Conference play will begin in late March.
It was extremely close at the top as the Bulls narrowly surpassed Miami (OH) for the top spot by just one point. Buffalo received 77 points and five first place votes, while the RedHawks finished with 76 points and four first place votes. As hosts of the upcoming conference Tournament, Miami was picked to win the postseason tournament with seven votes, while Buffalo received the other two.
"To have so much youth on this team, it is very humbling for the coaches across this league to recognize what we are building at Buffalo," said head coach Kristen Maines. "I am so excited for this spring season to begin and I know our student athletes are as well. The MAC continues to be one of the most competitive leagues across the country, so if we want to live up to this recognition, we know we will have to fight both physically and mentally on the court each and every day."
Buffalo returns five players from last season, led by second-team All-MAC selection sophomore Pia Schwarz, who finished with a 7-3 record in the fall. Senior Emel Abibula returns for her fourth season and she had an outstanding fall with a 7-2 mark. Also returning from last year's squad are sophomores Nikoleta Antoniou-Karademitrou and Hsin-Yuan Shih, who each picked up five wins this fall.
Five fresh faces joined the squad this fall as the Bulls were led in wins by junior Gabriella Akopyan, who went 8-2. Freshman Azra Deniz Comlek went 6-2, while fellow freshman Ambre Amat also picked up six wins in fall competition.
Freshmen Lolina Schietekat Sedas and Alexis Tensfeldt round out a squad with a ton of depth.
Following Buffalo and Miami (OH) in the preseason poll is Ball State, who was picked to finish third with 59 points. Akron was picked to finish fourth, while Western Michigan was picked fifth. Rounding out the bottom four is Toledo, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, and Northern Illinois.
The Bulls kickoff the spring season on Friday, Jan. 31 with a pair of matches at Miller Tennis Center. UB will face St. Bonaventure at 1pm and Niagara at 7pm. Conference play will begin in late March.
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