Player of the Week
Polina Zelentsova, District of Columbia
Sophomore | Chaiky, Ukraine
Zelentsova went a perfect 4-0 in conference play, helping the Firebirds to wins over Daemen (6-1) and D'Youville (7-0). In her match-ups against Daemen, she partnered with Desire Parn to defeat Rubio Talayero and Bella Bjerkan, 6-2, at the No. 1 doubles spot. She went on to blank Kitsa Scime, 6-0, 6-0, at the No.2 position. In the Firebirds’ 7-0 sweep of D'Youville, Zelentsova and her partner Parn battled to a 7-6 doubles victory over Mina Randjelovic and Kseniya Zhdanok at No. 1. In singles play, she came back to defeat Mina Randjelovic, 2-6, 7-6, 10-5, at No. 2.
Rookie of the Week
Nadja Zmukic, District of Columbia
Freshman | Belgrade, Serbia
Zmukic went a perfect 4-0 in conference play, helping the Firebirds to wins over Daemen (6-1) and D'Youville (7-0). In her match-ups against Daemen, she partnered with Lina Benjelloun to defeat Carly Armitage and Stephanie Baier, 6-4, at the No. 3 doubles spot. She went on to defeat Baier, 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 6 spot. In the Firebirds’ 7-0 sweep of D'Youville, Zmukic and Benjelloun cruised to a 6-1 victory over Paola Ermina and Yelizaveta Prokopenko at No. 3. In singles play, she swept Prokopenko, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 6.
ECC Weekly Honor Roll
Claudia Bahamon Lopez, District of Columbia
Senior | Yopal, Colombia
Bahamon Lopez went 4-0 in a 2-0 week for the Firebirds. In the 6-1 win over Daemen, she partnered with Celia Bastin to defeat Kitsa Scime and Yinnet Del Leon, 6-2, at the No. 2 doubles spot. She went on to defeat Del Leon in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1, at the No. 3 singles position. In the 7-0 win over D'Youville, she partnered with Bastin to defeat Yuliia Kashtelian and Maria Campisi, 6-1, at No. 2. She went on to defeat Kashtelian, 1-6, 6-3, 1-0 (7), in a comeback victory at No. 3.
Kyra Bergmann, Queens
Senior | Forest Hills, NY
Bergmann opened dual competition earning a 2-0 afternoon as Queens took home a 7-0 sweep over Molloy ECC play. The Queens senior opened the match with a 6-1 victory at No. 1 doubles with partner Caroline Hany-Fawzy. In singles play, Bergmann earned a 6-1 first-set victory before winning due to retirement.
Anaya Brons, St. Thomas Aquinas
Freshman | Utrecht, Netherlands
Brons went 2-0 in her doubles and singles matches, as STAC opened both their home and ECC schedule with a 7-0 victory over Molloy. The STAC freshman from Utrecht, Netherlands teamed up with Elita Silins at No. 1 doubles to defeat Elena Baughman-Saunders and Erin Sanchez, 6-1, before defeating Elena Baughman-Saunders via retirement, 6-1, 3-0 at No. 1 singles.
Caroline Hany-Fawzy, Queens
Senior | Alexandria, Egypt
Hany-Fawzy led the Knights to a 7-0 victory over Molloy in ECC action on Saturday afternoon. The Queens senior began the afternoon earning a 6-1 victory at No. 1 doubles with teammate Kyra Bergmann before she earned a two-set victory at No. 1 singles over Elena Saunders at 6-1, 6-0.
Desire Parn, District of Columbia
Freshman | Parnu, Estonia
Parn opened up conference play going 3-1 in a 2-0 week for the Firebirds. In UDC’s win over Daemen, she partnered with Polina Zelentsova to defeat their opponents Rubio Talayero and Bella Bjerkan, 6-2, at the No. 1 position. In the victory over D'Youville, she picked up wins at the No. 1 spot in both singles and doubles, defeating Kseniya Zhdanok, 6-3, 6-2, in singles and downing Zhdanok and Mina Randjelovic, 7-6 (4) with Zelentsova.
Frida Rubio, Daemen
Graduate Student | San Diego, CA
Rubio went 1-1 at both No. 1 singles and doubles for the week. The Daemen graduate student took down UDC’s No. 1 Desire Parn, 6-3, 6-3, in her first conference match and added a win at No. 1 doubles against West Virginia Wesleyan, 6-2.
Elita Silins, St. Thomas Aquinas
Graduate Student | Northampton, England
Silins went 2-0 in her doubles and singles matches, as STAC opened both their home and ECC schedule with a 7-0 victory over Molloy last week. The STAC graduate student teamed up with Anaya Brons at No. 1 doubles to defeat Elena Baughman-Saunders and Erin Sanchez, 6-1, before defeating Isabella Fortaleza, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 2 singles.
ECC Women's Tennis Weekly Award Winners
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sept. 9 - Kitsa Scime, Daemen
Sept. 17 - Anaya Brons, St. Thomas Aquinas
Sept. 24 - Polina Zelentsova, District of Columbia
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Sept. 9 - Bella Bjerkan, Daemen
Sept. 17 - Anaya Brons, St. Thomas Aquinas
Sept. 24 - Nadja Zmukic, District of Columbia
Previously in the Polls
INTERCOLLEGIATE TENNIS ASSOCIATION NATIONAL POLL
(First Rankings Released in Mid-November)
INTERCOLLEGIATE TENNIS ASSOCIATION EAST REGION POLL
(First Rankings Released in Mid-November)
NCAA EAST REGION RANKINGS
(Released in April 2025)
ECC PRESEASON POLL
1. Queens (34 points, 4 first-place votes)
2. St. Thomas Aquinas (31 points, 2 first-place votes)
3. District of Columbia (24 points)
4. Daemen (18 points)
5. D'Youville (11 points)
6. Molloy (8 points)