WASHINGTON — The Atlantic 10 Conference named Dayton junior Kyle McNally as its Under Armour Men’s Tennis Player of the Week and George Mason freshman Edgar Vilain as its Rookie of the Week. Saint Joseph’s senior Wiktoria Czerny was named Women’s Tennis Player of the Week and Rhode Island freshman Kajsa Helgesen was named Rookie of the Week. The awards were announced on Tuesday for matches played from Jan. 26 to Feb. 1.
McNally fulfilled his role to perfection last week, going 4-0 while facing top-notch competition at the No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles positions. The junior from Alogonquin, Ill. defeated Ball State’s Jacks Lancaster 6-4, 6-0 at the top singles slot, after winning the No. 1 doubles match 6-2 alongside teammate Sturle Skigelstrand. The pair defeated Ole Miss’ top duo 6-3 on Sunday, before McNally earned the Flyers’ lone point of the match – a 6-0, 6-4 win over Stefano D’Agostino.
Vilain maintained his strong freshman campaign, going 2-0 in singles matches at the No. 5 position and 1-1 in doubles for the Patriots at the No. 2 position. An Oakville, Ontario native, Vilain defeated Hofstra’s Smarth Deepudass 6-0, 6-3 on Friday, pairing with Niza Simunyola for a 6-3 doubles win as well. Vilain capped the week with a come-from-behind 2-6, 6-0, 6-2 win against Navy’s Ethan Garcia. The Patriots won both matches, taking down Hofstra 7-0 and Navy 4-3.
Czerny won both of her matches on Friday as the Hawks fell to undefeated Bucknell, 4-3. Teaming up with Victoria Tracey, the pair earned a 7-6 (5) doubles victory at the No. 1 position. In singles play, the Krakow, Poland native defeated Abby Plat 3-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a thrilling match between two stars at the top position in the lineup.
Helgesen led Rhode Island to a pair of road wins over Fairfield and Sacred Heart, going 2-0 at both the No. 5 singles and No. 1 doubles positions. The Stavanger, Norway native rallied from a set down to defeat Fairfield’s Nicolette Loeffler 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, also defeating Sacred Heart’s Brooke Tuffs. Alongside teammate Nikki Fernando, Helgesen earned 6-1 doubles victories against both Fairfield and Sacred Heart.
WEEKLY AWARDS
| DATE |
MEN'S PLAYER |
WOMEN'S PLAYER |
MEN'S ROOKIE |
WOMEN'S ROOKIE |
| Jan. 21 |
Mats Bredschneijder, VCU |
Tania Isabel Andrade Sabando, VCU |
Jakob Gaudreau Barnes, SJU |
Viktoria Lackova, VCU |
| Jan. 27 |
Santiago Valle, SJU |
Savannah Kollock, DAV |
Damir Abdusamadov, SJU |
Keri Rothenberg, DAV |
| Feb. 3 |
Kyle McNally, UD |
Wiktoria Czerny, SJU |
Edgar Vilain, GMU |
Kajsa Helgesen, URI |