Irina Sotnikova earns second Player of Week honor
4/7/2009 1:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Irina Sotnikova of Sam Houston State has been honored as Southland Conference women's tennis “Player of the Week” for the second time during the 2009 season.
Sotnikova led the Bearkats to a pair of 4-3 road victories this past weekend as Sam Houston won over Texas-San Antonio and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The senior from Riga, Latvia, ran her 2008-09 season record No. 1 singles to 23-1 with wins in both matches. Her 6-0 6-7 6-4 victory over Karen Scida was the decisive match at UTSA. Sunday Sotnikova knocked off Islander No. 1 Mirna Cicak 7-5 7-5.
Sotnikova also paired with Peta Taylor for two wins at No. 1 doubles. Taylor and Sotnkiova stand 24-2 in doubles this year. Sotnikova currently ranks No. 131 in the NCAA Division I national women's rankings.
As a team, Sam Houston stands 9-6 for the season and 4-3 in conference play with four home matches remaining in the regular season. The Bearkats play host to Stephen F. Austin at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the McAdams Tennis Center.
“This is a nice honor but the most important thing to me is that our team won,” Sotnikova said.
Sam Houston also plays host to Central Arkansas Friday and Northwestern State and Southeastern Louisiana next week. The Bearkats could clinch a top four Southland finish with victories in all four matches.
