Nomoto grabs Sun Belt Player of the Week honor

NEW ORLEANS – Middle Tennessee junior Yuiri Nomoto has been selected as the March 28 Sun Belt Player of the Week for women’s tennis, it was announced Wednesday by the league office. Nomoto’s accolade is her first of the season and second of her career after she previously won the honor Feb. 9, 2011.

The Tokyo, Japan, native sealed a 7-0 win Sunday over Western Kentucky in the Blue Raiders’ only match of the week. At the No. 1 singles position, she battled through a tough first set before putting the Lady Toppers’ Monta Reinfelde away 7-6, 6-1. The loss was the first singles setback of the campaign for WKU’s top player.

Nomoto also won in doubles action, pairing with senior Marietta Bigus at the No. 2 slot to open the three-match sweep with an 8-1 triumph against Western Kentucky’s Carolina Barboza and Alex Crofford.

On the season, she has won four of her last five matches to improve to 6-8 in dual action but still owns an overall winning singles ledger at 15-12, including a 9-4 mark during the fall tournament campaign.

As a team, Middle Tennessee has won its last five to improve to 10-4 this spring, the first double-digit win season since 2010 and only the third in the last eight years.

Nomoto’s honor is just the 12th in program history and she becomes only the third Blue Raider to win the award multiple times.

Middle Tennessee will return to action this weekend with a pair of matches in Arkansas, starting at 1 p.m. Friday in Jonesboro, Ark., against Arkansas State.

Blue Raider SBC Players of the Week
Manon Kruse (M12, 02)
Manon Kruse (A24, 03)
Manon Kruse (F4, 04)
Manon Kruse (F25, 04)
Manon Kruse (M31, 04)
Manon Kruse (A7, 04)
Ann-Kristin Siljestrom (F16, 05)
Claudia Szabo (F8, 06)
Ann-Kristin Siljestrom (F14, 06)
Natalie Araya (F10, 10)
Yuiri Nomoto (F9, 11)
Yuiri Nomoto (M28, 12)

Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter @MTAthletics for continued updates.