WILMINGTON, North Carolina – The UNCW women's tennis team, as expected, made a major haul at Thursday night's pre-tournament banquet on the eve of the 2014 Colonial Athletic Association Tennis Championships in Williamsburg, Va.
The red-hot Seahawks completed a clean sweep of the top three honors following a spectacular dual match season that featured a 14-3 record and a nine-match winning streak heading into the CAA Tournament.
Second-year skipper Evan Clark was selected CAA Coach-of-the-Year, senior Angie Sekely (Ontario, Canada) was voted Player-of-the-Year and newcomer Annika Sillanpaa (Tampere, Finland) was named Rookie-of-the-Year.
Clark piloted the Seahawks to its first No. 1 seed in the CAA Tournament. Sekely lost just one match in 16 outings this spring and won all four matches against conference opponents.
"I feel very fortunate to win this award,” said Clark. "We have so many great coaches in the CAA, so I'm very honored. It's really a team award and without our team's hard work and dedication, it would not have been possible."
Sekely was named First-Team All-CAA in singles for the second straight year. Sillanpaa and senior Olga Blank (Winnipeg, Canada) collected Second-Team All-CAA recognition in singles as well.
"I could not be happier for Angie,” added Clark. “She's very deserving of this recognition. Her body of work at UNCW has been amazing. Angie's record, including being undefeated in regular season conference play the last two years, speaks for itself. She's the first player from UNCW to receive this award. That's a great accomplishment and we certainly appreciate everything she has done for the program."
The hard-hitting Sillanpaa made a big impact in her first season with the team, going unbeaten in seven matches. “What a great award for Annika to earn in her first semester at UNCW. We feel extremely fortunate for Annika to come in January, step into our lineup and have such a big impact. It has been a lot of fun seeing her transition and develop. We know the best is yet to come for Annika."
Two UNCW doubles teams earned All-CAA honors. Blank and sophomore Christine Kharkevitch (Houston, Texas) were selected First-Team All-Conference and Sekely was voted Second-Team with partner Alyssa Ritchie (Franklin, Ohio). In addition, Ritchie, who is majoring in biology, made the All-Academic Team on the women's side.
The Seahawk women open play tomorrow (April 18) at 3 p.m. against No. 8 Hofstra at William & Mary's Millie West Tennis Facility.
2014 ALL-CAA WOMEN'S TENNIS TEAMS
2014 CAA WOMEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Angie Sekely, UNCW
2014 CAA WOMEN'S TENNIS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Annika Sillanpaa, UNCW
2014 CAA WOMEN'S TENNIS COACH OF THE YEAR: Evan Clark, UNCW
First Team
Singles
Maria Belaya, William & Mary Sr. Melbourne, Fla.
Kelly Kambourelis, Coll. of Charleston Sr. Melbourne, Fla.
Brooke McAmis, Coll. of Charleston So. Greensboro, N.C.
Leeza Nemchinov, William & Mary So. Moscow, Russia
Taylor Pinchoff, James Madison Jr. Sylvan Lake, Mich.
Angie Sekely, UNCW Sr. Mississauga, Canada
Doubles
Maria Belaya, William & Mary Sr. Melbourne, Fla.
Leeza Nemchinov, William & Mary So. Moscow, Russia
Olga Blank, UNCW Sr. Winnipeg, Canada
Christine Kharkevitch, UNCW So. Houston, Texas
Alex Huie, James Madison Fr. The Woodlands, Texas
Taylor Pinchoff, James Madison Jr. Sylvan Lake, Mich.
Second Team
Singles
Mara Argyriou, Coll. of Charleston Fr. Limassol, Cyprus
Olga Blank, UNCW Sr. Winnipeg, Canada
Nabila Farah, William & Mary Fr. Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Alex Huie, James Madison Fr. The Woodlands, Texas
Dorothy Safron, Delaware Sr. New York, N.Y.
Annika Sillanpaa, UNCW Fr. Tampere, Finland
Doubles
Mara Argyriou, Coll. of Charleston Fr. Limassol, Cyprus
Kelly Kambourelis, Coll. of Charleston Sr. Melbourne, Fla.
Jenny Falcone, Coll. of Charleston Jr. Davidson, N.C.
Katherine Schofield, Coll. of Charleston So. Franklin, Tenn.
Alyssa Ritchie, UNCW Jr. Franklin, Ohio
Angie Sekely, UNCW Sr. Mississauga, Canada
All-Academic Team
Ruxandra Andriescu, James Madison Sr. Brampton, Ontario
Sarah Bowen, Hofstra So. Edmond, Okla.
Lorena Ferrer, Towson So. Barcelona, Spain
Kelly Kambourelis, Coll. of Charleston Sr. Melbourne, Fla.
Carmen Lai, Delaware So. Shatin, Hong Kong
Nicole Pivonka, Drexel Jr. Sarasota, Fla.
Alyssa Ritchie, UNCW Jr. Franklin, Ohio
Sydney Smith, William & Mary Sr. Washington, D.C.
