Starakiewicz Named MAC Scholar Athlete and Player of the Week

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BUFFALO, NY – University at Buffalo men's tennis player Wojciech Starakiewicz has been named as the Mid-American Conference Men's Scholar Athlete of the Week for the second time this season. The award was announced from the league's Cleveland headquarters this morning. Starakiewicz also was honored later in the day as the MAC's Men's Tennis Player of the Week.

Starakiewicz, a senior communication major with a 3.859 grade point average, went 4-0 in his matches as the Bulls won their second MAC regular season title in the last three seasons. In UB's two matches in Muncie, IN on April 21 and 22, Starakiewicz scored identical 6-0, 6-4 wins over Ball State's Zane Smith and IUPUI's Luke Bielawski in singles play. For the season, the senior is 18-10 in singles and 16-11 in doubles. Starakiewicz also remained undefeated in doubles against MAC foes as the number two tandem of Starakiewicz and Travis Zappia downed BSU's Derek Carpenter and Zane Smith, 8-6. The Starakiewicz/Zappia combination finished with a 5-0 league mark in the number two slot. Starakiewicz moved up to the number one doubles slot, paired with Vusa Hove, scoring an 8-5 victory over IUPUI's Patrick O'Neill and Bielawski.

The top seeded Bulls earned a first-round bye to this weekend's MAC Championships in Toledo, OH. UB faces the winner of the Toledo/Ball State match on Friday morning at 10:00 am in the semifinal round.

The MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week honor is presented to a MAC male and female student-athlete who has a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better and performs well during the week's competition. The winners are selected by a group of the conference's faculty athletic representatives.