Complete WCC Release |
To Be A Don…Marina Nikolic and Brooke Irish
SAN FRANCISCO – Four members of the University of San Francisco women's tennis team were honored by the West Coast Conference in the 2013 All-WCC Women's Tennis Team, as voted on by the conference's nine head coaches.
Headlining the Dons' honorees was
Andrea Ka, who was named the conference's Freshman of the Year for her fantastic debut season on the Hilltop.
Ka and fellow freshman
Sofia Holmberg were named All-WCC First- and Second-Team Singles selections, respectively, and the two teamed up to earn Second-Team Doubles honors as well. The doubles tandem of freshman
Brooke Irish and sophomore
Marina Nikolic earned Doubles Honorable Mention.
Ka held down the No. 1 singles position all year for the Dons, posting an 18-5 record, including a 5-3 mark in WCC action and a 2-0 record at the 2013 WCC Championships.
The Paris, France native recorded impressive two-set wins over No. 30 Katie Le of Santa Clara, No. 102 Nicole Long of Oregon and No. 79 Laura Claus of San Diego. Ka was also the only nationally-ranked player in the USF lineup, checking in as high as No. 76 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings.
Holmberg notched a 14-8 overall record out of the No. 2 singles spot and was a consistent contributor for the Dons all season. The Stockholm, Sweden native lost two consecutive matches just once, and 11 of her 14 victories came in two sets.
USF top two singles players also partnered to form the Dons' top doubles tandem, as Ka and Holmberg recorded a 13-9 record at No. 1 doubles, including a 5-3 conference mark. The duo's most impressive victory came on March 18, when they handed No. 22 Isaura Enrique/Samantha Vickers of Conference USA runner-up and 24
th-ranked Tulsa one of their three losses on the season.
Irish and Nikolic hit their stride when it mattered most, winning five-of-six WCC matches to post the best conference winning percentage (.833) of any USF doubles team.
Irish's Doubles Honorable Mention nod means that all three Dons freshmen received all-conference honors in their first spring campaigns.
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2013 WCC Women's Tennis Postseason Award Winners
Player of the Year: Jenny Jullien, Saint Mary's
Freshman of the Year: Andrea Ka, San Francisco
Co-Coaches of the Year: Ben Cabell, Santa Clara and Gualberto Escudero, Pepperdine
All-WCC First Team Singles
April Bisharat, Loyola Marymount
Lorraine Guillermo, Pepperdine
Khunpak Issara, Pepperdine
Jenny Jullien, Saint Mary's
Andrea Ka, San Francisco
Katie Le, Santa Clara
All-WCC Second Team Singles
Laura Claus, San Diego
Alejandra Granillo, Pepperdine
Sofia Holmberg, San Francisco
Catherine Isip, Saint Mary's
Maja Mladenovic, Portland
Meghan Sheehan-Dizon, BYU
Singles Honorable Mention: Michaela Capannolo, PEP; Chelby Cooke, SCU; Katie Edwards, GON; Danielle Flores, SMC; Jade Frampton, SMC; Kelly Lamble, SCU; Audrey Leitz, SMC; Tory Parravi, LMU; Marta Stojanovic, USD; Desiree Tran, BYU.
All-WCC First-Team Doubles
April Bisharat/Claudia Razzeto, Loyola Marymount
Lorraine Guillermo/Khunpak Issara, Pepperdine
Jenny Jullien/Danielle Flores, Saint Mary's
All-WCC Second-Team Doubles
Jessica Agra/Katie Le, Santa Clara
Andrea Ka/Sofia Holmberg, San Francisco
Meghan Sheehan-Dizon/Nicolette Tran, BYU
Doubles Honorable Mention: Ale Granillo/Michaela Capannolo, PEP; Katie Edwards/Kylie Peek, GON; Liz Searl/Jade Frampton, SMC; Sabine Fuchs/Valeska Hoath, POR; Marina Nikolic/Brooke Irish, USF; Audrey Leitz/Catherine Isip, SMC.
