Detroit's Serrano, Green Bay's Swanson and CSU's Sherwood Collect Tennis Athlete of the Week Honors
INDIANAPOLIS -- Detroit junior Cesar Escobar Serrano (Merliot, El Salvador) and Green Bay senior Paul Swanson (Coon Rapids, Minn.) have been named Horizon League Men’s Tennis Co-Athletes of the Week, while Cleveland State sophomore Kara Sherwood (Mentor, Ohio) has earned Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week honors, for the week of April 2-8. .The accolade is the second of the year for Swanson, while Serrano and Sherwood earn the honor for the first time this season.
Swanson went 2-0 at No. 1 singles for Green Bay (15-5, 4-0 Horizon), as the Phoenix remained tied with Wright State for the top spot in the Horizon League men’s tennis standings after a pair of 4-3 wins at Youngstown State and Cleveland State. Serrano led Detroit (8-12, 3-3 Horizon) to two wins in League play, as the Titans knocked off Valparaiso, 6-1, before defeating UIC, 4-3, to climb into fourth place in the conference. Helping Cleveland State (12-7, 4-0 Horizon) to 6-1 wins over Green Bay and Milwaukee, Sherwood went unbeaten in singles and doubles play.
On Green Bay’s road trip to Youngstown State and Cleveland State, Swanson collected two wins at No. 1 singles, the first coming in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0 against YSU. The following day, Swanson came back to post a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory against CSU’s Yannick Goossens, who was a 2011 All-League First Team pick.
Playing both matches at No. 2 singles, Serrano knocked off his opponent from Valparaiso, 7-5, 6-4, on Friday, before rallying for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory on Saturday against UIC. Serrano now has wins in nine of his last 10 singles matches and leads the Titans with a 14-5 record on the year. The junior is 5-1 in Horizon League singles play.
Sherwood combined with teammate Nicole Janek to record two perfect 8-0 doubles wins for Cleveland State before rolling to two victories at No. 3 singles. Against Green Bay, Sherwood tallied a 6-1, 6-2 triumph before collecting a 6-3, 6-1 win the following day against Milwaukee. Sherwood has won three straight matches and four of her last five.
Detroit will play two non-conference matches over the weekend, hosting Chicago State on Friday, April 13, before welcoming IUPUI on Saturday. Cleveland State, tied for the top spot in the Horizon League, will meet League co-leader UIC on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET in Chicago, with the winner grabbing the inside track on the No. 1 seed in the Horizon League Tournament. The Vikings will wrap up the weekend with a Sunday match at Valparaiso at 11 a.m. ET.
Men’s Tennis Athletes of the Week:
January 24: Hayden Joblin, Wright State
January 31: Craig Cox, Green Bay
February 7: Chris Baum, Valparaiso
February 14: Yannick Goossens, Cleveland State
February 21: Michael Tenzer, Green Bay
February 28: Lauri Makikalli, Wright State
March 6: Martin Arguello, Wright State
March 20: Eric Honert, Valparaiso
March 27: Austin Woldmoe, Butler
April 3: Paul Swanson, Green Bay
April 10: Cesar Escobar Serrano, Detroit; Paul Swanson, Green Bay
Women’s Tennis Athletes of the Week:
January 24: Alex Bastock, Wright State
January 31: Maddy Soule, Milwaukee
February 7: Jana Knoppe, UIC
February 14: Mariya Kovaleva, UIC
February 21: Nicole Janek, Cleveland State
February 28: Christina Colarossi, Milwaukee
March 6: Teona Tsertvadze, UIC
March 13: Hayden Joblin, Wright State
March 20: Nicole Janek, Cleveland State
March 27: Amanda Cornwell, Detroit
April 3: Mariya Kovaleva, UIC
April 10: Kara Sherwood, Cleveland State
