SPARTANBURG, S.C. - College of Charleston junior Christin Newman has been named the Southern Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week for all matches March 12-18 the league announced today (March 20).  Newman went 3-0 at No. 1 singles and also picked up three doubles victories as the Cougars went 5-0 last week.  The Player of the Week selection is made by the conference office.

Newman began the week by competing in doubles play with her older sister Caroline against Boston University.  The siblings earned a 4-3 win at the No. 3 position over BU's Vivien Laszloffy and Petra Santini.  They also claimed doubles victories over Charleston Southern's Angelica Sidorenko and Alia Nour (8-5) and finished the week with an 8-2 win at No. 2 doubles over the University of Chicago's Linden Li and Jennifer Kung.

In singles competition, Newman picked up three straight-set wins at the top position.  The Greensboro, N.C., native cruised past Charleston Southern's Olga Makhova, 6-1, 6-2.  Makhova is the two-time Big South Player of the Year.  Newman then claimed a 6-1, 6-1 win over Wofford's Sarah Evans and came away with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Chicago's Kendra Higgins. 

The Cougars (13-4, 5-0 SoCon) were busy last week as they picked up wins over Boston University (4-3), Charleston Southern (4-3), Wofford (7-0), Chicago (7-0) and Western Carolina (4-0).

Other top performers in the Southern Conference included Appalachian State's Jessica Thaggard, Elon's Jordan Johnston, Furman's Lauren Kline, Georgia Southern's Allison Beller, UNCG's Niltooli Wilkins, Chattanooga's Alexa Flynn and Western Carolina's Karen Jimenez.

SoCon Women's Tennis Player of the Week
Feb. 14 - Paola Garrido, Georgia Southern
Feb. 21 - Samantha Maddox, College of Charleston
Feb. 28 - Kristen Lewis, Samford
March 7 - Kaylene Chadwell, Chattanooga
March 13 - Jordan Johnston, Elon
March 20 - Christin Newman, College of Charleston