Valparaiso's Bacalla and Oakland's Celis Collect Horizon League Tennis Weekly Honors

INDIANAPOLIS –Valparaiso freshman Dave Bacalla (Skokie, Ill.) is the Horizon League men’s tennis Player of the Week, while Oakland sophomore Karine Celis (Bogota, Colombia) is the Horizon League women’s tennis Player of the Week for the week of March 10-16.

The Valparaiso men’s tennis team competed in Orlando, Fla. at the Star Island Resort for their annual spring trip. The team went a perfect 6-0, defeating Monmouth College, Creighton and Quinnipiac this past week. All three matches were shutouts with 7-0 victories over Monmouth College and Quinnipiac and a 4-0 win against Creighton. The squad currently has an overall record of 13-3 on the season going into conference play.

Bacalla went undefeated in both singles and doubles play in matches facing Creighton and Quinnipiac. Against Creighton, he won in straight-sets over Elliot Baker while competing at No. 2 singles. The following day versus Quinnipiac, the freshman came back from being a set down to pick up a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 2 singles. With teammate Danny Oakes, the pair won 8-6 at No.1 doubles taking on the duo of Eric Ambrosio and Luke Roser.

The Oakland women’s tennis team traveled to Akron, Ohio Sunday to face the Zips. The team came out with a win in a close 4-3 matchup to conclude non-conference play. The Grizzlies hold a 4-8 record heading into their inaugural season of competition in the Horizon League.

Celis’ performance secured Oakland’s first road win of the year with victories in both No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles. At No. 2 singles, the sophomore won in a three-set tie-breaker over Shannon Newnes 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (7). To clinch the doubles point, she paired up with teammate Juliana Guevara at No.1 doubles to collect an 8-6 win against Martina Zerbola and Karolina Maksimava.

The Valparaiso men’s team hosts conference-foe UIC on Saturday, March 22 to begin Horizon League competition. The Oakland women’s team also starts conference play as they travel to Milwaukee, Wis. to face the Panthers on Saturday, March 22.

Top Men’s Tennis Players of the Week:
Patryk Koscielski, Detroit (Fr.)—Clinched defeat over Toledo by posting a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win playing at No. 3 singles. He also helped Detroit earn its first doubles point of the year with an 8-4 victory at No. 3 doubles.
Matt Kuelker, Cleveland State (Sr.)—Kuelker was the only Viking to go 2-0 on the week and has now won nine-straight singles matches. He is also the fifth player from Cleveland State with 75 career singles wins.

Top Women’s Tennis Players of the Week:
Kara Sherwood, Cleveland State (Sr.)—Picked up a victory against Stephen F. Austin at No. 3 singles and has now won three-straight singles matches. She is just four wins shy of becoming the sixth Viking with 70 career singles wins.
Diana Tokar, Milwaukee (Fr.)—Went 3-1 on the weekend at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles. Clinched two singles victories in three-sets against tough competition from both UNI and Illinois State.

Men’s Tennis Player of the Week:
Jan. 20: Silviu Mistreanu, Youngstown State
Jan. 27: Jorg van der Vloet, Cleveland State
Feb. 3: Ali Shabib, Cleveland State
Feb. 10: Leopold Gomez Islinger, Green Bay
Feb. 17: Jeffrey Schorsch, Valparaiso
Feb. 24: Matt Kuelker, Cleveland State
March 3: Jeffrey Schorsch, Valparaiso
March 10: Dave Bacalla, Valparaiso

Women’s Tennis Player of the Week:
Jan. 13: Lauren Smith, Wright State
Jan. 20: Nino Sujashvili, Detroit
Jan. 27: Jana Knoppe, UIC
Feb. 3: Margarita Sadovnikova, Youngstown State
Feb. 10: Annina Brendel, Youngstown State
Feb. 17: Dominika Lackova, Youngstown State
Feb. 24: Alex Bush, Cleveland State
March 3: Diana Tokar, Milwaukee
March 10: Karine Celis, Oakland