Wednesday, March 24, 2010

MACON, Ga. – FGCU’s Priscillia Villemond gathers her first Atlantic Sun Player of the Week award, the conference office announced Wednesday. Villemond recorded victories in No. 1 singles and No. 3 doubles and defeated the No. 1 singles player of No. 54 Mississippi State.

The senior from Les Bordes, France, knocked off No. 54 Mississippi State’s Oleysa Tsigvintseva in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, and picked up a win against Lipscomb's Mackenzie Bishop, 1-6, 6-4, 10-6, helping the Eagles to a 7-0 sweep of the Lady Bisons. The marketing major concluded the week with a 6-0, 6-1 victory versus Belmont's Laura Stack, leading FGCU to a 6-1 win versus the Bruins. In doubles play, Villemond teamed with Eva Sambrano to pick up 8-2 wins at number three doubles against Lipscomb and Belmont.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Other Top Performer
Simona Cacciuttolo, USC Upstate (Fr. - No. 3/4 - Los Andes, Chile - Undeclared) – Cacciuttolo posted a pair of singles wins in tough matches at Charlotte and at regionally-ranked ETSU. The freshman posted a 2-6, 6-0, 3-0 win against Charlotte's Gabi Vergara at No. 3, earning the victory as Vergara retired in the third set. With partner Emilia Milovanovic, Cacciuttolo also posted an 8-3 win against ETSU's Paula Jamie and Karina Kedzo at No. 2 doubles and added a 7-5, 6-4 win versus Kedzo at No. 4 singles.

Lauren Holton, UNF (Jr. - No. 6 - Roswell, Ga. - Sport Management) – Holton stands undefeated on the season at 13-0, playing primarily in the No. 6. The sport management major helped UNF to three wins last week, including sweeps of Samford and Mercer. The Ospreys also defeated the Kennesaw State Owls, 6-1. Holton and partner Victoria Krook own an 8-1 mark on the season in the No. 3 and picked up three wins last week. UNF moved into No. 64 in the national ITA Rankings.

Kelly Holtzhausen, ETSU (Jr. - No. 2/No. 1 - Johannesburg, South Africa - Exercise Science) – Over the past week Holtzhuasen led ETSU to pick up key A-Sun wins against USC Upstate, Campbell, while defeating Kentucky on the road Tuesday. Against the Spartans, the junior defeated Carolina Bello in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1, while outlasting Cristina Garcia Brunet, 7-6, 6-1. Holtzhausen's biggest win of the week came against Kentucky’s No. 128 Megan Broderick Tuesday. In the victory against the Wildcat’s No. 1 singles player, Holtzhausen rallied for a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) victory, which clinched ETSU's 4-3 victory versus Kentucky. For the week, Kelly went 3-0 in singles, while posting a 2-1 mark in doubles.

Agatha Palider, Kennesaw State (Jr. - Singles - Mississauga, Ontario, Canada - Undeclared) – Palider went 2-0 in singles in Kennesaw State’s A-Sun matches against UNF and Jacksonville Friday and Saturday. The junior made quick work of both matches, winning them in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, and 6-3, 6-3, respectively. Palider has now won four of her last five singles matches to move to 10-3 on the season, and stands at 4-1 in singles matches against A-Sun opponents.

Unnati Purushotham, Stetson (Jr. - No. 4/No. 2 - Hyderabad, India - Business Administration) – Purushotham stood perfect on the week, picking up wins in all three singles matches and all three doubles matches against Akron, Belmont and Lipscomb. During the weekend in Nashville against the Bruins and Bisons, Purushotham dropped just nine total games in singles to extend her singles winning streak to six. The junior also took part of two dominating, 8-1, doubles wins with doubles partner Shannon Gunning.