Hillyer, Vedula, Bode, Martinez, Lee Earn Tennis Awards

AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE TENNIS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Matches: April 6-11, 2021

 WEST DIVISION WOMEN’S PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Claire Hillyer, Sr., McMurry

McMurry senior Claire Hillyer (Borger, Texas) earned No. 1 in singles and No. 1 doubles victories in the War Hawks’ 6-3 win over Mary Hardin-Baylor. She won 6-1, 6-0 in singles and teamed with Hope Turner for an 8-6 triumph. It is Hillyer’s second career Player of the Week honors.

CO-WEST DIVISION MEN’S PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Joshua Bode, Jr., Concordia Texas

Concordia Texas junior Joshua Bode (Austin, Texas) helped the Tornados to a 9-0 sweep of Howard Payne by winning the top position singles and doubles. He posted a 6-0, 6-1 win against the top Yellow Jacket and teamed with Adrian Munguia for an 8-3 tandem victory. It is Bode’s second Player of the Week of the season.

CO-WEST DIVISION MEN’S PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Carlos Martinez, Sr., McMurry

McMurry senior Carlos Martinez (Monterrey, Mexico) won 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 singles and teamed with Chase Daniell for an 8-4 victory in the top doubles flight at the War Hawks topped Mary Hardin-Baylor 7-2. It is the seventh Player of the Week award in Martinez’s career and third of the season.

EAST DIVISION WOMEN’S PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Saumya Vedula, Fr., UT Dallas

UT Dallas freshman Saumya Vedula (McKinney, Texas) picked up singles and doubles win as the Comets a 9-0 road win over Belhaven Saturday afternoon to improve to 3-0 in ASC East play this spring. Vedula collected a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles teamed up with partner Rebecca Jackson for an 8-1 win at No. 2 doubles.

EAST DIVISION MEN’S PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Julian Lee, So., LeTourneau

LeTourneau sophomore Julian Lee (Albuquerque, N.M.) went 2-0 at both No. 1 singles and No. 1 in doubles last week. He picked up a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) win against regional power Southwestern (Texas) and defeated Belhaven 7-6 (7-5), 6-0. Lee teamed with Patrick Baney for an 8-6 win against the Pirates and an 8-3 defeat over the Blazers. Lee has won nine consecutive doubles matches and four straight in singles. It is his second career Player of the Week honors.

OTHER TOP WOMEN’S PERFORMANCES

Hardin-Simmons sophomore Landry Laywell (Thorndale, Texas) won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 singles, and 8-1 at No. 2 doubles in the Cowgirls’ 9-0 win at Sul Ross State.

Howard Payne freshman Lexi Nave (Brownfield, Texas) earned a 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 1 singles against Concordia Texas. She also teamed with Zoe Sprayberry for an 8-3 loss at No. 1 doubles.

LeTourneau sophomore Bailey Deatherage (Alvarado, Texas) went 2-1 at both No. 1 singles and No. 1 in doubles for the YellowJackets. She defeated Louisiana College’s top Player 6-3, 6-0, and picked up a retirement win against Belhaven. She also teamed with Summer Apostalo for an 8-0 victory versus the Wildcats and an 8-2 win against the Blazers. 

OTHER TOP MEN’S PERFORMANCES

UT Dallas senior Ashwin Vaithianathan (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) helped lead the Comets to a 9-0 road shutout of Belhaven on Saturday to stay perfect in ASC East play, now at 3-0. Vaithianathan earned a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles and partnered with teammate John Edwards for an 8-3 success at No. 1 doubles.

Hardin-Simmons sophomore Desmond O’Shea (College Station, Texas) earned a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles against Sul Ross State and an 8-2 No. 1 doubles victory as the Cowboys defeated the Lobos 9-0.

Ozarks freshman Hikaru Yamaya (Osaka, Japan) went 2-0 at No. 2 doubles and 1-1 at No. 1 singles for the Eagles. He posted a 6-0, 6-3 victory over East Texas Baptist in singles and teamed with Nico Castells for an 8-0 victory against John Brown and an 8-5 win versus the Tigers.

ASC Announces Track & Field Athletes of the Week

AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE TRACK & FIELD ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Competitions: April 9-10, 2021

MEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Jayden Sloan, So., McMurry

McMurry sophomore Jayden Sloan (Abilene, Texas) was a part of the fastest Division III 4×400 meter relay team in the country as the War Hawks placed fourth at the UIW Invitational in 3:15.13. He was also ninth at the 200 meters in 21.67 seconds, ranking seventh in the country. It is Sloan’s fourth Athlete of the Week of the season.

MEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Jack Miller, Jr., LeTourneau

LeTourneau junior Jack Miller (Diana, Texas) won the East Texas Invitational pole vault, clearing 4.85 meters (15 ft.-11 in.). His height ranks seventh in the nation. It is Miller’s third Athlete of the Week of the year and sixth of his career.

WOMEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Sarah Horan, Sr., LeTourneau

LeTourneau senior Sarah Horan (Terrell, Texas) clocked the fastest 400-meter time in Division III at the East Texas Invitational. She won the event in 56.55 seconds. It is Horan’s second Athlete of the Week of the season and third of her career.

WOMEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Chisom Bright-Osigwe, Fr., East Texas Baptist

East Texas Baptist freshman Chisom Bright-Osigwe (Mesquite, Texas) placed second in the high jump, clearing 1.60 meters (5 ft.-3 in.) at the East Texas Invitational, ranking 22nd in Division III. She also was part of the winning 4×100 relay team (48.85) and was fourth in the 200 meters (25.97), sixth in the 100 (12.61), and sixth in the 4×400 (4:44.21).

OTHER TOP MEN’S PERFORMANCES

UT Dallas freshman Graeme Maclean (Fairview, Texas) set program records in both the 800 and 1,500 as the Comets return to action in the East Texas Invitational, hosted by Texas A&M-Commerce Saturday. Maclean set a new program mark in the 800 with a time of 1:57.74, placing sixth in the event. He also set a record in the 1,500 at 4:00.21, placing eighth.

Ozarks freshman Cesar Rodriguez (Scranton, Ark.) ran a 4:32.10 in the 1,500 meters at the Little Rock Open, placing 14th.

LeTourneau junior Erik Moore (Caney, Kan.) set the school record in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.84 at the East Texas Invitational. He finished sixth overall. Moore also had a 400-meter time of 53.79 seconds.

McMurry freshman Vern Angton (Arlington, Texas) threw the discus 44.79 meters at the UIW Invitational, ranking 34th in the UIW Invitational nation. He also had a shot put of 10.18 meters.

East Texas Baptist junior Rangel Miller (Shreveport, La.) placed fourth at the East Texas Invitational in the 400-meter dash in 49.78. He also ran the anchor leg of the 4×400 relay that placed third in 3:20.15.

East Texas Baptist sophomore Ivan Lockhart (Woodville, Texas) cleared 1.95 meters (6 ft.-4.75 in.) to finish third at the East Texas Invitational in Commerce.

OTHER TOP WOMEN’S PERFORMANCES

LeTourneau freshman Antranae Thomas (Longview, Texas) placed third in the discus, fifth in the hammer, and fifth in the East Texas Invitational shot. She had a distance of 10.92 meters (35 ft.-10 in.) in the shot, 38.10 meters (125 ft.) in the discus. In the hammer, she had 33.01 meters (108 ft.-4 in.).

McMurry sophomore Niigan Sunray (Norman, Okla.) set two personal records as she ran the 800 in 2:32.61 and the 1,500 in 5:20.44 at the UIW Invitational.

McMurry sophomore Ellie Ryan (Early, Texas) set two personal bests with a 37.45-meter throw in the discus and a 42.56-meter mark in the hammer at the UIW Invitational in San Antonio.

East Texas Baptist freshman Cienna Womack (Temple, Texas) finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles in 15.96 and was fifth in the 400 hurdles in 1:15.64 at the East Texas Invitational. She was also part of the 4×100 relay team that won the event in 48.85. Womack also placed third in both the long jump (5.09 m/16-8.5) and triple jump (10.31 m/33-10).