BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. -- West Liberty's Lauren Howard is the Mountain East Conference Player of the Year, the University of Charleston's Toni Katipa is the Freshman of the Year, and West Virginia State's John Simms is the Coach of the Year, the league announced today.
Howard, a senior from Lee-On-Solent, England, posted a 10-1 record for the Hilltoppers at No. 1 singles, including a 6-1 mark in conference play. The two-time MEC Player of the Week also went 9-2 overall in doubles, including a 3-1 mark at No. 1 doubles and 3-0 at No. 2 doubles in MEC play.
Katipa, a freshman from Rotorua, New Zealand, played No. 1 singles all season for the Golden Eagles. In MEC play, Katipa was 4-2 in singles and 4-2 at No. 1 doubles. She also advanced to the quarterfinals of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Atlantic Regional Championship in singles and the semifinals in doubles.
Simms earned his second-consecutive Coach of the Year honors after leading the Yellow Jackets to the Mountain East Conference regular season championship. The Yellow Jackets finished conference play with a perfect 7-0 record and are the No. 1 seed at this weekend's Mountain East Conference Tournament in Charleston, W.Va.
The top three teams in the MEC regular season standings each placed two representatives on the first team in West Virginia State's Brooke Campbell and Brittany Franco, West Liberty's Howard and Emily Dawson, and the University of Charleston's Katipa and Hensley. West Virginia Wesleyan's Paula Pimenta and UVa-Wise's Daria Tyschenko also were selected to the first team.
The second team consists of Alexandria Barr (West Liberty), Raquel Cabero Quiles (West Liberty), Nina Dillwald (West Virginia State), Katelyn Mumaw (Shepherd), Taylor Nichols (Fairmont State), Ana Pena (Charleston), Charlotte Sandy (West Virginia State) and Julia Uchoa (West Virginia Wesleyan).
The All-MEC teams and awards are selected by a vote of the league's coaches.
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First Team All-Mountain East Conference |
|
Name |
School |
Cl. |
Hometown |
|
Brooke Campbell |
West Virginia State |
Fr. |
Perth, Australia |
|
Emily Dawson |
West Liberty |
Jr. |
East Liverpool, Ohio |
|
Brittany Franco |
West Virginia State |
Jr. |
Deerfield Beach, Fla. |
|
Kelsey Hensley |
Charleston |
Sr. |
Ashland, Ky. |
|
Lauren Howard |
West Liberty |
Sr. |
Lee-On-Solent, England |
|
Toni Katipa |
Charleston |
Fr. |
Rotorua, New Zealand |
|
Paula Pimenta |
West Virginia Wesleyan |
So. |
Parana, Brazil |
|
Daria Tyschenko |
UVa-Wise |
Fr. |
Kirovograd, Ukraine |
|
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Second Team All-Mountain East Conference |
|
Name |
School |
Cl. |
Hometown |
|
Alexandria Barr |
West Liberty |
Sr. |
Vienna, W.Va. |
|
Raquel Cabero Quiles |
West Liberty |
So. |
Madrid, Spain |
|
Nina Dillwald |
West Virginia State |
Fr. |
Castrop-Rauxel, Germany |
|
Katelyn Mumaw |
Shepherd |
Sr. |
Charles Town, W.Va. |
|
Taylor Nichols |
Fairmont State |
Jr. |
Fredericksburg, Va. |
|
Ana Pena |
Charleston |
Jr. |
Bogotá, Columbia |
|
Charlotte Sandy |
West Virginia State |
Jr. |
Liskeard, England |
|
Julia Uchoa |
West Virginia Wesleyan |
So. |
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
|
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Player of the Year: |
Lauren Howard (West Liberty) |
|
Freshman of the Year: |
Toni Katipa (Charleston) |
|
Coach of the Year: |
John Simms (West Virginia State) |