PDF of the release
OGDEN, UTAH (March 10, 2010) - The Big Sky Conference has selected the tennis Players of the Week for matches played between March 4 and March 9. Montana State’s Charlotta Hjalmarsson is the women’s Player of the Week. Sacramento State’s Kiryl Harbatsiuk is the men’s Player of the Week.
Kiryl Harbatsiuk, a junior from Minsk, Belarus, helped the Hornets go 2-1 last week with an upset over No. 49 Iowa on Saturday. The Hornets have never beaten a team higher than the Hawkeyes. Harbatsiuk, went 3-0 in singles at the No. 1 position and 3-0 in doubles, two wins at the No. 2 position and one win at the No. 1 position.
At 11-1 in singles play this season, Harbatsiuk has won 10 straight matches, including a win over 32nd-ranked Denver’s No. 1 player Yannick Weihs going 6-1 and 6-4 last week. He also beat Iowa’s Marc Bruche, 7-6 (10-8) and 7-5, as well as Northern Colorado’s Calix Van Lier 6-3 and 6-3. His only loss this season was to Standford’s Alex Clayton in a third-set super tiebreaker. This is Harbatsiuk’s second Player of the Week award.
Charlotta Hjalmarsson, a freshman from Karlskrona, Sweden won three matches at No. 3 singles to push her winning streak to four. The conference matches won last weekend on the road against Weber State and Idaho State added to the Bobcats 2-1 record, their only loss was to Utah State, 8-3.
Hjalmarsson beat out Utah State’s Kristina Voytsekhovich 7-5 and 6-2 as well as Eljse Beneke at Weber State 7-5, 6-4 and Idaho State’s Rilee Moorhead 6-4 and 6-2. She also teamed up with Laura Villegas at No. 1 doubles to defeat the top players at Weber State (8-6) and Idaho State (8-2).