STEPHENVILLE – Play, win, get recognized, rinse, repeat. That’s reality for the Tarleton tennis team this season, with the Western Athletic Conference announcing Wednesday that for the seventh time in 11 weeks, the Texans have won a weekly award.
The Texans swept the awards for the fourth time this season with Martha Makantasi named WAC Singles Athlete of the Week, and the duo of Celia Vaudiau and Faustine Palatte earning WAC Doubles Team of the Week honors.
The Texans went 2-0 in matches played March 21-27, beating UTEP 6-1 on Friday and defeating fellow WAC opponent New Mexico State 4-3 on Saturday. The Texans are 15-4 on the year, matching their most wins in a season over the past 15 years (15-6 in 2006-07). They’ve won four straight matches, eight of their last nine and 14 of their last 16.
Makantasi went 2-0 in the No. 3 position to earn her second weekly singles award of the season, her fifth total. On Friday, she defeated UTEP’s Lina Sachica 6-4, 7-5. On Saturday, it came down to Makantasi to decide the team win with the team points tied at 3-3. Makantasi defeated New Mexico State’s Natsuki Nishimura 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in comeback fashion to clinch the team victory for Tarleton, sending a great crowd at the Potishman-Lard Tennis Courts into a frenzy.
The Tarleton sophomore is 14-4 on the season (11-4 at No. 3, 2-0 at No. 2, 1-0 at No. 1).
Vaudiau and Palatte went 2-0 as a pair in the No. 3 flight this week, clinching the doubles point in their first match against UTEP’s Kathleen Percegona and Elena Dibattista with a 6-3 win. On Saturday, they defeated New Mexico State’s Bella Nguyen and Miranda Bishard 6-2. Tarleton won each doubles point 2-1, so each match at No. 3 was vital.
As a pair, Vaudiau and Palatte have won four straight matches to improve to 7-3. They are undefeated in the No. 3 position at 4-0. Vaudiau has now won three weekly awards this season, although this was her first in doubles. This was Palatte’s first such honor of the year.
The WAC has dished out weekly awards 11 times this tennis season. Seven times out of the 11 weeks, Tarleton has earned at least one of the two awards distributed, winning both awards four times, resulting in 11 weekly awards total. Grand Canyon has earned four weekly awards this year for second most in the conference.
Tarleton’s 2022 WAC weekly honors:
Week 1: Celia Vaudiau, Singles; Deniza Marcinkevica and Jemi Aguilar, Doubles
Week 3: Deniza Marcinkevica, Singles; Deniza Marcinkevica and Jemi Aguilar, Doubles
Week 6: Martha Makantasi, Singles; Martha Makantasi and Elsa Boisson, Doubles
Week 8: Celia Vaudiau, Singles
Week 9: Deniza Marcinkevica and Martha Makantasi, Doubles
Week 10: Deniza Marcinkevica and Martha Makantasi, Doubles
Week 11: Martha Makantasi, Singles; Celia Vaudiau and Faustine Palatte, Doubles
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