STU’s Kovalska Headlines All-Conference Roster
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – St. Thomas senior Tetiana Kovalska was named The Sun Conference Women’s Tennis Player of the Year and headlined the 2014 All-Conference team, which was announced by the league office following the conference tournament banquet, which was hosted by Embry-Riddle at the Pelican Bay Country Club on Wednesday.
Southeastern’s Alexis Quinn was tabbed as the league’s Champions of Character Award winner, while Embry-Riddle’s Dave Paschal garnered Coach of the Year honors and the Eagles’ Hui-I Huang and Kristina Marova were voted as the Doubles Team of the Year. These individual honors, as well as the seven-member first team and six members of the second team were determined by a vote of the league’s head coaches.
Kovalska owns a 10-2 overall singles record and was undefeated in Sun Conference play at 7-0. Kovalska was the runner-up at the ITA Florida Regional championship in the fall and is currently ranked eighth in the national singles poll.
Paschal earned the fifth women’s tennis Coach of the Year honor of his career after leading the Eagles to a 7-0 league record and the conference regular season title. Under Paschal’s guidance the Eagles are ranked No. 5 in the latest NAIA Coaches’ Poll and bring a 13-5 overall record into tournament play.
Marova and Huang were 7-0 in conference regular season play and are 21-6 overall. The duo won the 2013 ITA/NAIA national doubles crown and is ranked No. 1 in the national doubles poll.
Quinn is a sophomore with a 3.895 cumulative grade point average in Finance and Marketing. Following the tragic suicide of a young girl who was the victim of bullying, Quinn spearheaded the creation of a campaign titled "It's Cool To Be Kind" at the local school where the victim attended. Described by her head coach Bill May as someone of exceptional character, she has been instrumental in addressing the social issue of bullying, and has actively involved many of Southeastern student-athletes in doing outreach in this area. Additionally, she has been instrumental in areas related to recruiting for the Fire, academic excellence and leadership within the team and program.
Academic All-Conference awards were also handed out on Wednesday. To qualify for Academic All-Conference honors, a student-athlete must have completed at least two full semesters at the nominating institution and carry a 3.5 or better cumulative grade point average. Thirteen individuals were presented with the award, led by Ave Maria’s Lexi Hammerquist and Northwood’s Justyna Wojcik, who each have a perfect 4.0 GPA. Hammerquist is a sophomore majoring in Biochemistry, while Wojcik is a senior majoring in Finance.
Tournament play begins at 9 a.m. on Thursday when St. Thomas takes on Warner in the first quarterfinal. The second quarterfinal between SCAD Savannah and Southeastern is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. As the tournament's top two seeds, Embry-Riddle and Northwood will have byes in the first round and will see their first action in Friday's semis. ERAU will take on the St. Thomas/Warner winner at 9 a.m. and Northwood will close out the day against the winner of Thursday's second quarterfinal contest between SCAD And Southeastern.
The tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship in Mobile, Ala., May 13-17.
Coach of the Year
Dave Paschal, Embry-Riddle
Player of the Year
Tetiana Kovalska, St. Thomas
Doubles Team of the Year
Hui-I Huang/Kristina Marova, Embry-Riddle
Champions of Character Award
Alexis Quinn, Southeastern
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
|
|
Overall Record |
Conference Record |
|
|
Singles |
Doubles |
Singles |
Doubles |
|
First Team |
|
|
|
|
|
Hui-I Huang (Embry-Riddle) |
10-13 |
21-6 |
3-3 |
7-0 |
|
Tetiana Kovalska (St. Thomas) |
10-2 |
7-5 |
7-0 |
5-2 |
|
Kristina Marova (Embry-Riddle) |
15-9 |
21-6 |
6-1 |
7-0 |
|
Sadia Mayou (Southeastern) |
11-3 |
8-8 |
3-2 |
2-5 |
|
Theresa Schmaus (SCAD Savannah) |
9-2 |
7-4 |
6-0 |
5-1 |
|
Justyna Wojcik (Northwood) |
9-6 |
10-6 |
4-2 |
4-3 |
|
Adelaide Wood (Northwood) |
13-2 |
15-1 |
5-1 |
7-0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Second Team |
|
|
|
|
|
Maria Barragan (SCAD Savannah) |
6-3 |
7-2 |
5-0 |
4-1 |
|
Anna Götz (Embry-Riddle) |
16-9 |
9-8 |
7-0 |
6-0 |
|
Paola Montero (Embry-Riddle) |
12-6 |
9-8 |
6-0 |
6-1 |
|
Paula Ortiz Couder (Embry-Riddle) |
18-3 |
10-3 |
6-1 |
6-0 |
|
Maja Plavsic (SCAD Savannah) |
6-5 |
6-4 |
5-1 |
5-1 |
|
Eva Vilar (Embry-Riddle) |
12-4 |
10-3 |
6-0 |
6-0 |
ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE
Ashley Ahern, St. Thomas
Mason Bellar, Southeastern
Brigitte Bustamante, St. Thomas
Stephanie Dodd, Southeastern
Lexi Hammerquist, Ave Maria
Hui-I Huang, Embry-Riddle
Mary Kate Lee, Ave Maria
Lauren Lightfoot, St. Thomas
Kristina Marova, Embry-Riddle
Alexis Quinn, Southeastern
Wendy Reade, Southeastern
Rachel Van Dyke, Southeastern
Justyna Wojcik, Northwood