April 25, 2013
PARK RIDGE, Ill. - Senior Petra Januskova (Ottawa, Canada) and freshman Jacqueline Zuhse (Boca Raton, Fla.) were honored at the Big Ten Conference Banquet Thursday night. No. 69 Januskova was named to the All-Big Ten First Team while Zuhse was a Sportsmanship Award Honoree.
This is the third consecutive year Januskova has been named to the first-team and the second consecutive year being a unanimous selection. She joins Indiana's Leslie Hureau, Nebraska's Mary Weatherholt and Michigan's Emina Bektas and Ronit Yurovsky as the only unanimous selections in the conference.
Januskova ranked as high as No. 27 in singles this season winning 27 matches on the year. She is second in the Big Ten with 27 singles victories trailing only Yurovsky. She has earned a 16-5 record this spring with a 15-5 record in the No. 1 position.
Teaming with Chelsea Utting (Peachtree City, Ga.) in doubles, Januskova made a late-season push to enter the doubles poll making their way up to No. 24 where they are now. They knocked off the No. 27, No. 9 and No. 3 duos in the nation along the way.
Over the course of the season she knocked off seven nationally-ranked players in singles play and five more with Utting in doubles.
Zuhse was named a Sportsmanship Honoree in her first season of collegiate tennis. The award is given to the student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior.
Zuhse has achieved 16 wins this season including 11 in the spring. She won eight consecutive singles matches to begin the spring season.
Starting the season at the No. 6 position she played her way up the lineup finishing the season as the team's primary No. 3 singles player. Against Michigan State when an injury shook up the lineup Zuhse moved into the No. 2 spot for the first time this season. She brought home the victory in the match defeating Olga Chernova 6-3, 6-3.
In doubles she competed alongside three separate teammates throughout the year. She began the spring playing with Katherine Whiteaway (Sawbridgeworth, England) before playing with Sarah Henderson (Bloomington, Ind.) and finishing the season with Marie-Frederique Bedard (Montreal, Canada) collecting eight wins in all. Including the fall Zuhse finished with 11 wins on the season.