Nicholls’ Drobnjakovic, UNO’s Vullings garner Southland Tennis Weekly Honors

Drobnjakovic posted pair of wins against Alcorn; Vullings posted 4-0 mark in two team conference victories

FRISCO, Texas – Nicholls’ Pavle Drobnjakovic and New Orleans’ Ank Vullings are the Southland Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Players of the Week, respectively, the league announced Tuesday. Weekly awards are presented by Hercules Tires.

Drobnjakovic went 2-0 in the Colonels’ 5-2 win over Alcorn on Monday, winning at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles. Nicholls (3-2) visits St. Mary’s at 2 p.m. CT Friday before opening conference play on the road at Abilene Christian at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Vullings was a perfect 4-0 and extended her singles winning streak to 18 matches as the Privateers mustered a pair of 4-3 home victories over Northwestern State and Central Arkansas on Friday and Sunday, respectively. UNO continues league play on the road against Abilene Christian at 1 p.m. Friday and versus UIW at 11 a.m. Sunday.

Men’s Tennis Player of the Week – Pavle Drobnjakovic, Nicholls – Sophomore – Belgrade, Serbia
Drobnjakovic moved to 2-1 at No. 2 singles with a straight-set win over Alcorn’s Luka Andonov by a score of 6-1, 6-4. At top-line doubles with Piyush Surendra Salakar, the duo cruised to a 6-3 victory to go to 3-1 together in doubles.

Honorable Mention: None.

Women’s Tennis Player of the Week – Ank Vullings, New Orleans – Redshirt Sophomore – Roermond, Netherlands
Vullings extended her singles winning streak to 18 matches with a pair of wins over Southland foes at the No. 1 position. She took down Northwestern State’s Mariella Manetti in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) to give the Privateers a 3-0 advantage. On Sunday, Vullings edged reigning Southland Freshman of the Year Chunxi Xin in three sets (6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2) for the match-winning point on Sunday.

Alongside Lea Alguacil at No. 2 doubles, the duo topped their Demon counterparts in a tiebreaker to seal the doubles point and made quick work of their UCA opponents with a 6-2 decision.

Honorable Mention: Emilija Dancetovic, Northwestern State; Morgan Forshag, Nicholls; Brandelyn Fulgenzi, UIW; Jaeun Lee, Central Arkansas; Elena Rodriguez, Lamar; Mariya Shumeika, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; Sylvia Viljoen, Abilene Christian; Sahaja Yamalapalli, Sam Houston.

2021 Southland Tennis Players of the Week
March 9 – Pavle Drobnjakovic, Nicholls; Ank Vullings, New Orleans
March 2 – Filippo Salsini, Lamar; Camille Townsend, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Feb. 23 – No men’s winner; Fuka Nonoyama, Central Arkansas
Feb. 16 – Axel Vila Antuna, Lamar; Mariya Shumeika, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Feb. 9 – Marko Galic, UIW; Paula Cerda, Stephen F. Austin
Feb. 2 – Nathan Schwartz, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; Mariya Shumeika, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Jan. 26 – Carlos Berna Ruiz, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; Yada Vasupongchai, Central Arkansas
Jan. 19 – Joaquin Delgado, Abilene Christian; Sahaja Yamalapalli, Sam Houston