SAINT LEO, Fla. – Nina Furmaniak was named the Sunshine State Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week on Monday after a tremendous start to her collegiate career.
 
Furmanaik earned a perfect slate in singles flight no. 3 to open her freshman campaign in the Lions perfect 3-0 start. Her week topped two nationally-ranked opponents in the form of No. 46 Candice Paya from No. 3 Columbus State and No. 39 Holly Benett of the No. 12 North Georgia program.
 
Furmanaik topped Lily Hartmann of Gustavus Adolphus in the season opener, 6-0, 6-0. In her first collegiate road trip, she defeated No. 46 Paya; 6-3, 6-1 to help Saint Leo clinch a 4-3 upset over No. 3 Columbus State. The next day, Furmanaik finished a three-set battle against No. 39 Bennett; 6-7, 6-3, 10-8.
 
At doubles flight no. 1, the No. 9 duo of Furmanaik and Kristyna Jurkova 2-1. Furmanaik and Jurkova defeated Gustavus Adolphus 6-3 and No. 18 partners, Holly Bennett and Vaishali Jorge of No. 12 North Georgia; 6-4. No. 2 Beatriz Lopez and Marleen Tilgner from No. 3 Columbus State handed the Lions their lone loss.
 
Saint Leo returns to the court on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 11:00 a.m. to host Lynn at the Saint Leo Tennis Center.
 
For more information on the Saint Leo women's tennis program, visit SaintLeoLions.com.  Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.