Friday, February 14
Orlando, Fla.
4:00 PM MT
Air Force Academy
at
UCF
Women’s Tennis Takes on Trio of Opponents in Florida, College MatchDay versus Navy
2/13/2025 2:16:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Head Coach Taylor Hollander discusses early successes, team growth, marathon weekend in Florida
In perhaps its most challenging road weekend of the dual season, Air Force Women's Tennis heads to Florida for a three-match weekend, starting with a pair of dual contests at the USTA National Campus.
Friday, Feb. 14, Air Force makes its return to the USTA National Campus, taking on No. 20 UCF, before facing Navy on College MatchDay, Saturday, Feb. 15. USTA hosts the annual event as a centerpiece of its Military Appreciation Day, which includes a free kid's clinic, family activities, and a pre-match flyover ahead of a 3 p.m. MT first serve.
The Falcons cap an action-packed weekend on Sunday in Tallahassee, squaring off with Florida State to take on their first ACC opponent since facing the Seminoles in 2020.
Falcons at a Glance:
Air Force enters the weekend 4-3, after earning a shutout win in dramatic fashion over Eastern Washington (7-0) and nearly completing a huge comeback at Gonzaga (4-3).
Collectively, the Falcons are 24-12 (.667) in singles play; Sophomore Nadia Kojonroj leads Air Force in wins, having won five-straight on the way to a 5-1 start on the season. Junior Arianna Van Houweling and newcomer Sofia Mavor are both out to a 4-1 start; Van Houweling has earned four-straight wins to open the year, all in straight sets. Mavor, won four-straight to open the year, including a dramatic comeback victory against Eastern Washington's Kelly Arends, in which Mavor, down 8-2 in a third-set super tiebreak, won eight-straight points to clinch the match.
In doubles, four Falcon pairings combine for a 12-5 start to the season, with each currently sporting a winning record. Freshman pair Mavor/Shivaani Selvan, currently ranked No. 79 in the Division I Women's doubles rankings, are 3-1; Lines one and two duos Van Houweling/Kojonroj and Alexis Odom/Maya Michalski currently sit at 4-2. As a team, Air Force is currently 5-2, securing the doubles point in a best-of-three sets format.
Falcons Sweep Weekly MW Superlatives
For the first time since March of the 2021-22 season, Air Force Women's Tennis swept weekly Mountain West superlatives, as Van Houweling and freshman Selvan were named Mountain West Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively.
On the Falcons' two-match weekend in Spokane, Van Houweling went 2-0 in singles on the Falcons' second court, downing Eastern Washington's Anait Arutiunian, 6-1, 6-2, and Gonzaga's Rose Hayes, 6-2, 6-4. Versus Arutiunian, Van Houweling went up 3-0 and 5-0 in both respective sets before ceding a point.
In doubles play, Van Houweling and partner Nadia Kojonroj split doubles results in Spokane playing on the top court, defeating EWU's Arutiunian/Isabella Foshee, 6-4, and falling to Gonzaga's Emily Robertson/Safien Boulonois, 7-5.
Combined, Van Houweling is currently 4-1 in dual singles, having won four-straight matches and is 4-2 in doubles play with Kojonroj.
Selvan capped a 2-0 weekend in singles play on line five, sweeping match point on the way to a 6-2, 6-2 win over EWU's Zoe Pradel and downing Gonzaga's Ella Nielsen, 6-3, 6-1, while handing Nielsen her first loss of the spring. With the wins, Selvan improved to 4-2 in dual singles competition.
Friday, Feb. 14, Air Force makes its return to the USTA National Campus, taking on No. 20 UCF, before facing Navy on College MatchDay, Saturday, Feb. 15. USTA hosts the annual event as a centerpiece of its Military Appreciation Day, which includes a free kid's clinic, family activities, and a pre-match flyover ahead of a 3 p.m. MT first serve.
The Falcons cap an action-packed weekend on Sunday in Tallahassee, squaring off with Florida State to take on their first ACC opponent since facing the Seminoles in 2020.
Falcons at a Glance:
Air Force enters the weekend 4-3, after earning a shutout win in dramatic fashion over Eastern Washington (7-0) and nearly completing a huge comeback at Gonzaga (4-3).
Collectively, the Falcons are 24-12 (.667) in singles play; Sophomore Nadia Kojonroj leads Air Force in wins, having won five-straight on the way to a 5-1 start on the season. Junior Arianna Van Houweling and newcomer Sofia Mavor are both out to a 4-1 start; Van Houweling has earned four-straight wins to open the year, all in straight sets. Mavor, won four-straight to open the year, including a dramatic comeback victory against Eastern Washington's Kelly Arends, in which Mavor, down 8-2 in a third-set super tiebreak, won eight-straight points to clinch the match.
In doubles, four Falcon pairings combine for a 12-5 start to the season, with each currently sporting a winning record. Freshman pair Mavor/Shivaani Selvan, currently ranked No. 79 in the Division I Women's doubles rankings, are 3-1; Lines one and two duos Van Houweling/Kojonroj and Alexis Odom/Maya Michalski currently sit at 4-2. As a team, Air Force is currently 5-2, securing the doubles point in a best-of-three sets format.
Falcons Sweep Weekly MW Superlatives
For the first time since March of the 2021-22 season, Air Force Women's Tennis swept weekly Mountain West superlatives, as Van Houweling and freshman Selvan were named Mountain West Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively.
On the Falcons' two-match weekend in Spokane, Van Houweling went 2-0 in singles on the Falcons' second court, downing Eastern Washington's Anait Arutiunian, 6-1, 6-2, and Gonzaga's Rose Hayes, 6-2, 6-4. Versus Arutiunian, Van Houweling went up 3-0 and 5-0 in both respective sets before ceding a point.
In doubles play, Van Houweling and partner Nadia Kojonroj split doubles results in Spokane playing on the top court, defeating EWU's Arutiunian/Isabella Foshee, 6-4, and falling to Gonzaga's Emily Robertson/Safien Boulonois, 7-5.
Combined, Van Houweling is currently 4-1 in dual singles, having won four-straight matches and is 4-2 in doubles play with Kojonroj.
Selvan capped a 2-0 weekend in singles play on line five, sweeping match point on the way to a 6-2, 6-2 win over EWU's Zoe Pradel and downing Gonzaga's Ella Nielsen, 6-3, 6-1, while handing Nielsen her first loss of the spring. With the wins, Selvan improved to 4-2 in dual singles competition.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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