SVSU's Yunjiao Shangguan Named GLIAC Women's Tennis "Athlete of the Week"

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BAY CITY, Mich. - Saginaw Valley State University sophomore Yunjiao Shangguan (Chengdu, China/Shiyang) was named Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) women's tennis "Athlete of the Week" after posting a 6-0 this past weekend while helping lead the Cardinals to a 2-1 record in GLIAC play.

GLIAC Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week:
Yunjiao Shangguan - Saginaw Valley State
So./Chengdu, China/Shiyang

Saginaw Valley State University sophomore Yunjiao Shangguan went 6-0 this past weekend while helping lead the Cardinals to a 2-1 record in GLIAC play.  Shangguan swept all of her matches at No. 1 Doubles, winning 8-5 over Michigan Tech, 8-6 over Lake Superior State, and 8-0 over Findlay. At No. 1 Singles she again posted victories over Michigan Tech (7-5, 6-2), Lake Superior State (2-6, 7-5, 6-2), and Findlay (6-2, 6-1).  Shangguan’s efforts helped SVSU earn the No. 7 seed in the GLIAC Tournament.

GLIAC Women’s Tennis Weekly Honor Roll:  Kira Kotova - AU, Tabitha Simpson - FS, Darylann Trout - GV, Kaitlynn Hutchinson - LS, Sofia Espana-Perez - OD, Sharon Gill - WS.

2010 GLIAC Women’s Tennis Athletes of the Week: (9/8) Sharon Gill - WS; (9/14) - Alina Stanlia - FS; (9/21) Chelsea Johnston & Darylann Trout - GV;  (9/29) Chelsea Johnston - GV; (10/5) Paige Cooper - AU (10/12) Yunjiao Shangguan - SV.

 Ashland Eagles

The Eagles suffered a pair of 5-4 losses last week at Ferris State and Grand Valley State. Freshman Kira Kotova (Moscow, Russia) was 2-0 this week, improving her season record to 11-1 at fifth singles. Three of Ashland’s four losses have been close 5-4 defeats, all to the three teams ahead of the Eagles in the GLIAC standings (Grand Valley State, Ferris State and Northwood). Junior Paige Cooper (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington) has nine wins on the season for second on the team. Six of the wins were at third singles. AU will play at the ITA Nationals from Wednesday through Sunday this week.

Ferris State Bulldogs

The Ferris State University women’s tennis team wrapped up league regular-season play with three consecutive home wins this past week at the FSU Racquet and Fitness Center in Big Rapids.  The Bulldogs beat Ashland, Ohio Dominican and Lake Erie in a sweep of the three Ohio schools... FSU concluded conference regular-season competition with both a 9-2 overall and league record... enior Alina Stanila (Alexandria/Romania) finished regular-season play unbeaten (11-0) at the number one singles flight.  Stanila also paired with junior Melissa Flowers to register a 9-1 doubles mark at the number two flight in the lineup.  Sophomore Tabitha Simpson recorded a 10-1 singles record in conference matches this fall... Ferris State won 50 of 66 singles matches overall in regular-season play along with 26 of 33 doubles contests... The Bulldogs will next take part in the 2010 GLIAC Tournament on Oct. 22-24.

Findlay Oilers

The Oilers went 2-2 in its four matches last week... UF started the week with a 6-3 non-league win over Spring Arbor (Mich.) on Wednesday... The Oilers then dropeed an 8-1 Wayne State on Friday. Kelsey Yoder picked up the only win for UF at No. 3 singles... Findlay improved to 5-8 on the season with a 6-3 win at home over Tiffin University on Saturday, October 9.  Haley Dudon (No. 1), Kelsey Yoder (No. 3) and Beverly Beavers (No. 6) picked up singles wins for UF... Saginaw Valley State efeated Findlay by a score of 9-0 on Sunday, October 10 in University Center, Michigan. The loss gives the Oilers a 5-9 record on the season with a 2-9 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).

Grand Valley State Lakers

The Grand Valley State women’s tennis team picked up four win over the weekend, advancing its record to 11-0 overall and 10-0 in GLIAC action. GVSU claimed a 5-4 win over Ashland on Friday (Oct. 8), as senior Darylann Trout (Clarkston, Mich.) won a three-set tiebreaker, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), at the No. 3 singles to seal the victory for the Lakers. On Saturday, Grand Valley State notched a 7-2 win over Ohio Dominican, as Trout, Chelsea Johnston (Novi, Mich.), Lexi Rice (Augusta, Mich.), and Katelyn Schaffer (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), all went 2-0 on the day. The Lakers blanked (9-0) both Lake Erie and Davenport on Sunday to remain undefeated on the season. The Lakers will host Saginaw Valley State on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 12:00 p.m. in Allendale, Mich.

Lake Erie Storm

The Lake Erie College women's tennis team dropped a pair of conference road matches to finish the 2010 regular season over the weekend.  The Storm lost 9-0 at Ferris State on Saturday (Oct. 9) and 9-0 at Grand Valley State on Sunday (Oct. 10)... The Storm finishes its first season in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with an 0-11 league mark and an 0-12 record overall.

Lake Superior State Lakers

With one GLIAC match left the Lakers are 3-7 in conference play, after losing two matches this past weekend. Erin Wiethoff (Escanaba, Mich.) and Kaitlynn Hutchinson (Cadillac, Mich.) both defeated Northwood, 6-4, 6-2, in singles play, giving LSSU its only two wins of the match. Katie Watchorn (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.), 7-5, 6-2, and Hutchinson, 6-2, 6-4, were LSSU’s only two singles winners against SVSU. Hutchinson and doubles partner Tess Marton (Toronto, Ont.) defeated SVSU at No. 3 doubles, 8-6.

Michigan Tech Huskies

Michigan Tech split singles points with Northwood but got swept in doubles in losing 6-3 to the Timberwolves in GLIAC women’s tennis... Northwood won all three doubles matches by at least two breaks... Tech responded in singles. Kira Eck was the first off the courts with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 6 for the Huskies... Natalia Lebedeva earned a 6-2, 6-4 victory at No. 2 to cut the gap to 4-2. The final three matches could have gone either way. NU won the next point at No. 5 singles as Asel Otunchieva was defeated in three sets 6-1, 0-6, 6-3... Nathalia Rondelli gained a 6-4, 6-4 triumph for the Black and Gold at No. 3. The final match on the courts was at No. 1 singles. Tech’s Ploy Suthijindawong played her best match of the year before being edged by one of the region’s top players, Svenja Stephan, by two points in a third set super tiebreaker 6-7, 6-4, 10-8... Michigan Tech will play its final match of the fall regular season next Saturday (Oct. 16) vs. Lake Superior State.

Northwood Timberwolves

The Northwood University women's tennis team finished the regular season with a 6-3 win over Michigan Tech Saturday afternoon (October 9)... NU is now 10-1 overall and in the GLIAC. Michigan Tech stands at 5-5 overall and the GLIAC... The key to the match proved to be doubles. While the two teams eventually split the six singles matches, Northwood opened the contest by sweeping all three doubles contests. The Timberwolves dropped a total of just five games in the three matches... Svenja Stephan, Ann-Sophie Goujet and Nikoletta Kaposzta all went 2-0 on the day for Northwood... The Timberwolves will play at the GLIAC Tournament October 22-24.

Ohio Dominican Panthers

Ohio Dominican finished its first season in the GLIAC with a 6-5 conference mark... ODU is not eligible to compete in the GLIAC tournament because the University has yet to achieve full NCAA Division II membership status.

Saginaw Valley State Cardinals

The SVSU tennis team went 2-1 overall on the weekend, falling to Michigan Tech 6-3 on Friday (10/8) before defeating LSSU 6-3 on Saturday (10/9) and sweeping Findlay 9-0 on Sunday (10/10).  Sophomore Yunjiao Shangguan went undefeated this weekend, going 6-0 overall in both no. 1 singles and doubles while freshman Andrea Calhoun went 5-1 overall, getting victories at no. 2 singles against LSSU and Findlay and at no. 1 doubles against LSSU, Michigan Tech and Findlay.  With the victory against Findlay, the Cardinals have earned a berth into the GLIAC Women’s Tennis Tournament, which is being held Oct. 22-24 at the Midland Tennis Center in Midland , Mich.

Tiffin Dragons

Tiffin University women’s tennis team fell at Findlay 6-3, pulling out three singles victories but losing four other close matches. Winning in singles play was Malaika Messi at second singles 6-4, 6-4; Taylor Cooper at fourth singles in a three-set match 5-7, 6-2, 10-8; and Nicole Ardner at fifth singles 6-3, 6-0…Tiffin University struggled against Wayne State in another GLIAC matchup, falling at home 9-0 to the Warriors. Only two matches were close, with Malaika Messi dropping a narrow three set decision 3-6, 7-5, 10-12, while the team of Jessie Stefanov/Taylor Cooper also fell 5-8.

Wayne State Warriors

The Wayne State women’s tennis team (7-4, 7-4 GLIAC) posted a 2-1 record this past week, ending their GLIAC regular season schedule. After falling behind in doubles play, the Warriors were only able to post two more wins the rest of the way, falling to Northwood 6-3. Sharon Gill and Kristina Goranskaya defeated Nikoletta Kaposzta and Svenja Stephan 8-1. Both maintained their solid play in singles as Gill won over Stephan 6-2, 6-0, while Goranskaya bested Charlotte Sevin 2-6, 7-6, 10-5. The host Warriors snapped a two-match losing steak defeating Findlay at home on Senior Day 8-1. Gill, Goranskaya, Debora Correa and Tanya Joseph all earned two victories in the match. WSU finished the weekend in the fine fashion, blanking host Tiffin 9-0. Gill, Goranskaya, Monte and Jennifer Bradford had two wins apiece. Joseph won her second straight match, besting Renee Mattson 6-1, 6-1.