Morelia, Mexico, sophomore collects weekly award for the second time

NE10 Women's Tennis Weekly Release

EASTON, Mass. (April 13, 2021) – Stonehill College sophomore Cristina Solorzano Valencia has been named the Northeast-10 Conference's Player of the Week in women's tennis by the league office today.

Solorzano Valencia was instrumental in a 3-0 week for Stonehill, posting a combined 4-0 record in singles and doubles play. She won her lone completed match at No. 1 singles for the week, that a win over a regionally-ranked opponent, while she and sophomore Steffi Antao posted a 3-0 record at No. 1 doubles for the week.

Solorzano Valencia opened the week by posting a pair of clinching wins against regionally-ranked opposition in Stonehill's 4-0 triumph at rival Southern New Hampshire University, ranked No. 3 in the Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division II East Region rankings, on Wednesday. She and Antao started by clinching the doubles point for the Skyhawks with their 7-5 top-flight triumph against the East Region's No. 4-ranked doubles pairing. Solorzano Valencia followed that up by clinching the match win for Stonehill with a 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) victory at No. 1 singles against SNHU sophomore Magdalena Hubickova, ranked No. 5 in the Oracle/ITA East Region singles rankings.

Solorzano Valencia and Antao wrapped up the week with two more wins at No. 1 doubles as Stonehill posted 4-0 wins against Bentley University and Saint Anselm College on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The duo dropped just three games over the two sets, posting a 6-2 win against Bentley's Adriana Hiraldo and Alessa Matuty, before topping Saint Anselm's Emily Jacy and Maikah Bulpitt, 6-1 on Sunday. While Solorzano Valencia only logged the one singles win for the week, she was ahead of both matches with Saint Anselm and Bentley as the match was halted when the Skyhawks clinched the match wins.

Solorzano Valencia, ranked No. 6 in the Oracle/ITA Division II East Region singles rankings, has posted a combined 6-4 record in singles and doubles play so far this season. She is 2-1 in her singles matches at the top flight for the Skyhawks, while posting a 4-3 doubles mark with two different playing partners at No. 1 doubles. Solorzano Valencia and Antao are 3-2 as a pairing for the Skyhawks, having won their last three matches.

Solorzano Valencia, who was ranked No. 7 in the Oracle/ITA East Region doubles rankings with former playing partner Annelise Howick, '20, earned All-NE10 second team honors at No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles as a freshman for Stonehill in 2019. She was also named to the NE10 All-Rookie Team and NE10 Tournament All-Championship team, while reaching the quarterfinals of the 2019 USTA/ITA Division II East Region singles championship, while she and Howick made the semifinals of the USTA/ITA East Region doubles championship – marking the deepest run at the tournament by a Stonehill entry in program history.

Solorzano Valencia was named the NE10 Rookie of the Week on three occasions during the Fall 2019 season, picking up NE10 Player of the Week accolades for the first time on October 22, 2019. She has been named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll each of the last two semesters, with Academic Distinction status for the Fall 2020 semester for having a GPA between 3.50 and 3.99, and earned Athletic Director's Honor Roll status as well.

Stonehill, ranked No. 8 in the most recent Oracle/ITA Division II East Region rankings, is back in action tomorrow, when it hosts Assumption University for an NE10 match at Charles Watt Tennis Courts at 3 p.m.

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