Illinois States womens tennis player Liina Suurvarik was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week last week with a stellar performance at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic and a strong weekend at Furman.
At the Milwaukee Tennis Classic, Suurvarik ran the table going 5-0 and winning the singles title by defeating the No. 1 seed and No. 12 in the nation Raquel Kops-Jones of California 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. She also later teamed with Kops-Jones to win the doubles title in Milwaukee.
Two weeks later at a dual meet where the Redbirds faced Furman and Georgia, Suurvarik registered a 6-4, 6-1 win over Furmans Mary Kovarik, before falling to the No. 1 player in the nation, Agata Cioroch of Georgia, 6-4, 6-2. Teaming with Alesia Mikalayeva the Redbird duo recorded an 8-1 win over Furmans Kovarik and Caroline Bentley, but lost in a tiebreaker 9-8 (7-1) to Georgias Lori Grey and Tina Hojnik.
Head coach Chris Hoover was not to surprised that Suurvarik received the weekly honor.
Liina is probably the best player in the conference, Hoover said. I would not be surprised if Liina won this award at least two or three more times this season.
Suurvarik continues match play when she and the Redbirds travel to Milwaukee, Wis., to take on Marquette February 15 at 10:30 a.m.
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