Tarleton State Tennis sweeps WAC weekly awards for second time in 2026

STEPHENVILLE, Texas – For the second time in 2026, Tarleton State Tennis has won both the Singles and Doubles Player of the Week award from the Western Athletic Conference.

Freshman Aya Ishii won her second WAC Singles Player of the Week award while seniors Ximena Morales and Emma Persson were named Doubles Team of the Week on Tuesday. Morales, who was last week's WAC Singles Player of the Week award winner, earned her fourth career WAC Doubles Player of the Week honor. Persson picked up her second WAC Doubles Player of the Week honor this season and her seventh career doubles weekly award.

The award increased the Texans' midseason monthly/weekly award total at the Division I level to 59 under head coach Elianne Douglas-Miron.

Ishii went undefeated with a 2-0 record and did not lose a set at No. 2 singles last weekend in Tulsa. She became the fifth Tarleton State freshman in the Division I era to register double-digit singles wins in a season. Ishii's contest on Sunday allowed her to win her third straight singles match.

After clinching the WAC Fall Invitational doubles title and qualifying for the ITA Conference Masters Championship, Ishii and sophomore Maria Castano advanced to the round of 16 in doubles in the ITA's event. The victory marked the first win in singles or doubles for the Texans at the ITA Conference Masters Championship. Ishii currently co-leads the team in singles wins this spring with 10 after finishing fall with a 7-1 singles record. The first Japanese player in Tarleton State's Division I era posted a top 20 ranking both in singles and doubles while representing Urawareimei High School.

Morales and Persson went undefeated with a 2-0 record at No. 2 doubles and helped the Texans clinch the doubles point both against Kansas City and Tulsa. The duo won their first two matches together as a team, with Morales winning her fifth doubles match of the season. Persson picked up her sixth doubles win in 2026.

Morales' versatility has been displayed in doubles throughout her college career. She was penciled in at the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles position in 2025, posting a 9-1 record mark in No. 2 doubles. Along with her three Doubles Player of the Week honors from the WAC, Morales was also named WAC Doubles Player of the Month in October 2023.

Persson received All-WAC Second Team honors in doubles in 2025 and was a five-time WAC Doubles Player of the Week award winner last season. The senior from Båstad, Sweden, finished as a doubles champion in the consolation bracket of the 2024 ITA Texas Regional Championships. The 2023 WAC Player of the Year and WAC Freshman of the Year was on the WAC All-Tournament Doubles Team in 2023, one of six players among all WAC programs.

Tarleton State Tennis continues its string of road matches this weekend beginning Friday at 11 a.m. at UT Arlington at the UTA Tennis Center.

Tarleton State WAC Weekly Honors
Singles Player of the Week
Aya Ishii (March 10)
Ximena Morales (March 3)
Aya Ishii (Feb. 10)
Marissa Minetti (Jan. 20)

Doubles Team of the Week
Ximena Morales and Emma Persson (March 10)
Aya Ishii and Emma Persson (Feb. 24)
Aya Ishii and Marissa Minetti (Feb. 17)
Aya Ishii and Marissa Minetti (Feb. 10)

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Players Mentioned

Maria Castano: Sophomore

Ximena Morales: Senior

Emma Persson: Senior

Aya Ishii: Freshman

Marissa Minetti: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Maria Castano
: Sophomore

Ximena Morales
: Senior

Emma Persson
: Senior

Aya Ishii
: Freshman

Marissa Minetti
: Freshman