The Coastal Carolina University women’s tennis team swept the specialty awards as the Big South Conference announced its postseason awards tonight (April 13) at the annual awards banquet in Rock Hill, S.C.
Senior Marie Matrka (Wilmington, Ohio) was named the Player and Scholar-Athlete of the Year, head coach Jody Davis was named Coach of the Year and freshman Sofie Ahlberg (Stockholm, Sweden) earned Freshman of the Year. Coastal also had three players on the All-Big South singles team and one squad on the All-Conference doubles team.
Matrka was named the Big South Player of the Year after going 16-4 in singles play and 14-3 in doubles action. The mark included a 7-0 singles record in the Big South, including a three-set win over Winthrop’s Jenny Andrade April 8. Matrka now is third all-time at Coastal in singles wins (90) and doubles victories (89). Matrka also earned First Team All-Big South honors in both singles and doubles, making her a seven-time All-Big South honoree. She earned Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors for the second consecutive year, as she shared the award with UNC Asheville’s Natasha Lucki last season. She has a 3.995 grade point average in biology.
Davis guided the Lady Chants to a 15-5 overall record and a 6-1 record in the Big South. Coastal had a 10-match winning streak from March 5-April 5 and shut out the opposition nine times. This is Davis’ third Coach of the Year honor, as he won it in 2000 and 2001.
Ahlberg had a 13-5 overall record in her first season at Coastal, playing in the No. 4 singles slot. She also teamed with junior Petra Jantti (Haukiverkko Espo, Finland) at No. 2 doubles to go 10-6 overall and 4-1 in the Big South. She had six Big South wins, including a three-set win over Paula Takahaski of Winthrop. She is the fourth Freshman of the Year in Coastal history and the first since Bajrambasic in 2001.
Junior Virginie Dinh (Maisons Albert, France) was named to the All-Big South Teams in both singles and doubles. She had a team-best 16-3 record at No. 2 singles this spring and was 6-1 in Big South play. She won 14 of 16 matches in straight sets. Dinh also teamed with Matrka to go 14-3 in the No. 1 doubles slot.
Jantti was Coastal’s third player to earn All-Big South honors in singles. She had a 12-5 singles record this spring at the No. 3 position. Jantti went 6-1 in the Big South and had a seven-match winning streak from March 12-April 5.
Coastal, the second seed, faces seventh-seeded Radford Thursday, April 14 at 2 p.m., in Rock Hill, S.C., in the Big South Tournament Quarterfinals.
Women’s Tennis Honors
All-Conference Singles
Jennifer Williams, Birmingham-Southern
Meryann Tazi, Charleston Southern
Marie Matrka, Coastal Carolina
Virginie Dinh, Coastal Carolina
Petra Jantti, Coastal Carolina
Jenny Andrade, Winthrop
Ana Paula Noves, Winthrop
Danielle Moita, Winthrop
All-Conference Doubles
Meryann Tazi/Rebecca Franzi, Charleston Southern
Patricia Jaeger/Jessica Bair, Charleston Southern
Marie Matrka/Virginie Dinh, Coastal Carolina
Jenny Andrade/Ana Maria Simanca, Winthrop
All-Academic
Stephanie Boucher, Birmingham-Southern
Kim Kennedy, Charleston Southern
Marie Matrka, Coastal Carolina
Suzanne Celensu, High Point
Jonita Randolph, Liberty
Caroline Downs, Radford
Natasha Lucki, UNC Asheville
Paula Takahashi, Winthrop
Player of the Year
Marie Matrka, Coastal Carolina
Freshman of the Year
Sofie Ahlberg, Coastal Carolina
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Marie Matrka, Coastal Carolina
Coach of the Year
Jody Davis, Coastal Carolina
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