Tennis Weekly Honors: Mar. 15
Men
Player of the Week
Toby Samuel, South Caorlina
Samuel, has led South Carolina to the highest ranking in program history, coming in at No. 2 in the latest ITA Team Rankings after defeating No. 4 Ohio State 4-1 and sweeping No. 66 Alabama 7-0. Against No. 4 Ohio State, Samuel and partner Connor Thomson defeated the nation's No. 7 pair of Andrew Lutschaunig and James Trotter, putting an end to the Buckeye duo's four-match win streak. The No. 1 ranked South Carolina pair clinched the doubles point for the Gamecocks with their 6-4 win from the No. 1 position. In singles, Samuel went on to defeat No. 58 Justin Boulais in straight sets to add to South Carolina's lead and eventual upset of Ohio State. Against No. 66 Alabama, Samuel kicked off the singles wins for the Gamecocks, defeating No. 63 Enzo Aguiard in dominating fashion, 6-2, 6-1. Samuel is now 12-2 in dual play and 17-3 overall in singles. All 12 of his dual wins have come from the top spot in the singles lineup. He also holds a 9-3 record against ranked opponents. In doubles, Samuel is 16-1 overall and 9-1 from the No. 1 position. He is 8-1 over ranked opponents with two top-10 wins.
Freshman of the Week
Jaden Weekes, Kentucky
Weekes, went a perfect 4-0 on the weekend for Kentucky, helping the Wildcats to wins over LSU and Arkansas. In doubles, Weekes and partner Liam Draxl clinched the doubles point against LSU's Julian Penzlin and George Stoupe, 6-3 and Arkansas' Jake Sweeney and Foster Rogers, 6-3. In singles, Weekes won in straight sets against both opponents, defeating LSU's Stoupe, 6-2, 7-6(4) and Arkansas' Alan Sau Franco, 6-3, 6-3. The Freshman is now 8-3 in singles matches this spring and boasts a 5-1 mark in doubles alongside partner Liam Draxl.
Women
Player of the Week
Elza Tomase, Tennessee
Tomase, continued her impressive win-streak in singles, defeating Anna Ross, her third-consecutive ranked foe in singles, 6-2, 6-3, at Vanderbilt in a critical point in the match that would help Tennessee win on the road, 4-3. Tomase then took care of business at Kentucky, winning in straight sets over Elizabeth Stevens for Tennessee's second singles point of the match. In doubles, Tomase and Catherine Aulia were ahead 5-4 against Bridget Strammel and Anessa Lee when the doubles point was decided. In the Kentucky match, Tomase and Aulia defeated Ellie Eades and Zoe Hammond to set up the doubles win for UT. In her last five singles matches, Tomase is 4-1 with a 3-1 record over ranked opponents.
Freshman of the Week
Mia Kupres, Texas A&M
Kupres, had a perfect week with four wins. In the Aggies first match with Arkansas, she and her partner Gianna Pielet's put on an exemplary performance versus the Razorbacks' Carolina Gomez-Alonso/Kelley Keller (6-2). The pairs win clinched the doubles point for A&M as they headed to singles play with the advantage. Continuing her momentum to singles, No. 106 Kupres found herself locked into a battle on court 3. The freshman won two consecutive tiebreakers in the opening sets (7-6(3), 7-6(5)), this secured the fifth point of the day for the Aggies and marked her 10th dual match singles victory of the season. Her wins against Arkansas also were the first conference wins, both singles and doubles, of her collegiate career. In A&M's second match of the weekend with Missouri, Kupres once again was a standout performer. She and her partner got the ball rolling in doubles as they bested Romary Cardenas/Gabriela Martinez on court 3 (6-1), setting up the doubles point win for the Maroon & White. Kupres once again was the last Aggie on the court, this time she secured a victory on court 3 over Martinez (6-4, 6-2) which ensured the match sweep for A&M, 7-0, its eighth sweep of the season. She now stands at 11 dual match wins this season, ranking her first for the Aggies in total wins this season.