Virginia Women's Tennis Claims Four ITA Regional Awards
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –The 2019 ITA NCAA Division I regional award winners were announced on Saturday (May 18) and three members of the Virginia women’s tennis program claimed four awards, it was announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Senior Meghan Kelley (Falmouth, Maine) was named the ITA Atlantic Region Senior Player of the Year and Most Improved Senior. Freshman Amber O’Dell (New Milford, N.J.) was named the ITA Atlantic Region Rookie of the Year. Gina Suarez-Malaguti was named the ITA Atlantic Region Assistant Coach of the Year.
The individuals who won each award on the regional level are now eligible for the equivalent national honor, which will be announced on Sunday (May 19).
Kelley has played at the top of the lineup for the Cavaliers this season, posting a 24-12 record on the year and earned an at-large selection to the NCAA Women’s Singles and Doubles Championships that begin next week. She was named an All-ACC First Team selection and posted a career-high ranking of No. 20 nationally in singles this season and posted 10 wins over nationally-ranked players this season. She claimed the ITA Atlantic Region in doubles and won the consolation bracket in doubles at the ITA National Fall Championship. Kelley is ranked No. 17 nationally in doubles with teammate Sofia Munera (Pereira, Colombia).
O’Dell played at the three spot in the lineup for most of the season and was ranked as high as No. 60 in the national rankings. She posted a 23-11 record in singles and went 8-5 in conference play and advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITA Atlantic Regional. She posted a pair of wins over top-30 players, including Cameron Morra of North Carolina who was named the ACC Freshman of the Year and Brienne Minor of Michigan who was the 2017 NCAA Women’s Singles Champion. O’Dell also posted a win over the nation’s top-ranked doubles team from Clemson with partner Chloe Gullickson (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) this season.
Suarez-Malaguti is in her second season with the Cavaliers and helped guide the Virginia women’s team to a second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth and the second round of the tournament for the second straight season. The Cavaliers won 18 matches this season, continuing to improve the win total each season she’s been on staff. She has been instrumental in the development of the players as the Cavaliers had three singles players and doubles teams in the national rankings this season.
ITA WOMEN’S REGIONAL AWARD WINNERS
Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year
Dominic Manilla; Old Dominion University (Atlantic)
Kevin Epley; University of South Carolina (Carolina)
Todd Chapman; University of Kansas (Central)
Evan Clark; University of Illinois (Midwest)
Kevin Cory; UNLV (Mountain)
Younes Limam; Syracuse University (Northeast)
Lele Forood; Stanford University (Northwest)
Alison Ojeda; University of Tennessee (Ohio Valley)
Jeff Wallace; University of Georgia (Southeast)
Jenny Mainz; University of Alabama (Southern)
Per Nilsson; Pepperdine University (Southwest)
Mark Weaver; Texas A&M (Texas)
ITA Assistant Coach of the Year
Gina Suarez-Malaguti; University of Virginia (Atlantic)
Matthew Manasse; Duke University (Carolina)
Amy Sargeant; University of Oklahoma (Central)
Victoria Bensimon; Cleveland State University (Midwest)
Tetiana Luzhanska; UNLV (Mountain)
Michelle George; Syracuse University (Northeast)
Frankie Brennan; Stanford University (Northwest)
Ty Schaub; University of Tennessee (Ohio Valley)
Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar; University of Central Florida (Southeast)
Jonathan Berhane; University of Alabama (Southern)
Nadia Abdala; University of San Diego (Southwest)
Jordan Szabo; Texas A&M University (Texas)
Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award
Catalina Rico; US Naval Academy (Atlantic)
Suzanne Zenoni; Elon University (Carolina)
Caitlyn Merzbacher; University of Minnesota (Central)
Denise Azcul; Western Michigan University (Midwest)
TJ Fumagalli; US Air Force Academy (Mountain)
Katherine Muzik; Rutgers University (Northeast)
Sophie Whittle; Gonzaga University (Northwest)
Saide Hammond; University of Tennessee (Ohio Valley)
Estala Perez-Somarriba; University of Miami (Southeast)
Alba Cortina Pou; University of Alabama (Southern)
Emmal Wilson; University of Arizona (Southwest)
ITA Rookie of the Year
Amber O’Dell; University of Virginia (Atlantic)
Maria Mateas; Duke University (Carolina)
Oleksandra Korashvili; University of Oklahoma (Central)
Isabelle Boulais; The Ohio State University (Midwest)
Madison Tattani; University of Utah (Mountain)
Iuliia Bryzgalova; University of Pennsylvania (Northeast)
Hikaru Sato; Washington State University (Northwest)
Georgia Drummy; Vanderbilt University (Ohio Valley)
Meg Kowalski; University of Georgia (Southeast)
Emma Antonaki; Mississippi State University (Southern)
Elysia Bolton; UCLA (Southwest)
Ellie Douglas; TCU (Texas)
ITA Player to Watch
Women
Yuliia Starodubsteva; Old Dominion University (Atlantic)
Alexa Graham; University of North Carolina (Carolina)
Lisa Marie Rioux; Oklahoma State University (Central)
Asuka Kawai; University of Illinois (Midwest)
Chiara Tomasetti; Northern Arizona University (Mountain)
Akanksha Bhan; Columbia University (Northeast)
Michaela Bayerlova; Washington State University (Northwest)
Christina Rosca; Vanderbilt University (Ohio Valley)
Valeriya Zeleva; University of Central Florida (Southeast)
Sabina Machalova; University of Mississippi (Southern)
Ashley Lahey; Pepperdine University (Southwest)
Katya Townsend; Texas A&M University (Texas)
ITA Most Improved Senior
Meghan Kelley; University of Virginia (Atlantic)
Ingrid Martins; University of South Carolina (Carolina)
Sofia Blanco; Oklahoma State University (Central)
Sophia Geier; University of Akron (Midwest)
Arisha Ladhani; University of Denver (Mountain)
Jackie Urbinati; Boston College University (Northeast)
Sophie Whittle; Gonzaga University (Northwest)
Silvia Ambrosio; Purdue University (Ohio Valley)
Ana Roman Dominguez; University of South Florida (Southeast)
Tea Jandric; University of Mississippi (Southern)
Gabby Andrews; UCLA (Southwest)
Felicity Maltby; Texas Tech University (Texas)
ITA Senior Player of the Year
Meghan Kelley; University of Virginia (Atlantic)
Ingrid Martins; South Carolina University (Carolina)
Anastasia Rychagova; University of Kansas (Central)
Kate Fahey; University of Michigan (Midwest)
Aiwen Zhu; UNLV (Mountain)
Gabriela Knutson; Syracuse University (Northeast)
Melissa Lord; Stanford University (Northwest)
Fernanda Contreras; Vanderbilt University (Ohio Valley)
Ana Oparenovic; Florida State University (Southeast)
Andie Daniell; University of Alabama (Southern)
Ayan Broomfield; UCLA (Southwest)
Felicity Maltby; Texas Tech University (Texas)
ITA Community Service Award
Duquesne University (Atlantic)
East Carolina University (Carolina)
College of Charleston (Carolina)
Wichita State University (Central)
Cleveland State University (Midwest)
University of Utah (Mountain)
University of Massachusetts Amherst (Northeast)
Gonzaga University (Northwest)
Austin Peay State University (Ohio Valley)
University of South Florida (Southeast)
University of Alabama, Birmingham (Southern)
University of Arizona (Southwest)
Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award
Julianne Herman; Duquesne University (Atlantic)
Emma Davis; Wake Forest University (Carolina)
Malini Wijesinghe; Bradley University (Central)
Keisha Clousing; DePaul University (Midwest)
Lilian Poling; Boise State University (Mountain)
Marta Kowalska; University of Pennsylvania (Northeast)
Aneta Miksovska; Washington State University (Northwest)
Fernanda Conteras; Vanderbilt University (Ohio Valley)
Anastasia Rentouli; Mississippi State University (Southern)
Katharina Kukaras; University of San Diego (Southwest)