ROCK HILL, S.C. - On the eve of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament, junior Avery Owens and sophomore Karen Ching have been named to the Second-Team All-SAC doubles team, while Owens also claimed a spot on the second-team singles' team, as well, as announced by the league office on Wednesday.
The tandem helped lead Anderson to an 11-5 overall record and a 7-2 league record and a No. 3 seed in the conference tournament that begins on Thursday. The Trojans will face sixth-seeded Lincoln Memorial at 1 p.m. at the Rock Hill Tennis Center.
Owens and Ching teamed up to go 11-1 on the season at the No. 1 doubles' slot, while posting an impressive 6-1 mark in league action. The closed out the regular season with a four-match win streak and won nine of their final 10 matches.
Owens notched a 13-2 record in singles' action overall, while winning nine of her final 10 regular-season matchups. She was an undefeated 9-0 in SAC play.
Brevard's Claire Dillman and Lincoln Memorial's Leah Donoff were
named co-SAC Women's Tennis Players of the Year, leading the
conference's list of award winners.
Dillman and Donoff both played at the No. 1 singles position for
their teams this season. Donoff went 12-3 overall and 8-1 in SAC
matches, while Dillman finished the regular season 13-4 overall and
7-2 in the league.
Both Dillman and Donoff earned spots on the All-SAC Singles First
Team, joining Wingate's Ali Evers and Becca Thomas, Newberry's
Susana Aguirre, Catawba's Liz Renteria and Carson-Newman's Stefy
Stand.
Evers went 11-11 overall in singles play this season, while Aguirre
went 14-9, Thomas went 13-9, Renteria went 16-8 and Stand finished
5-9. Evers, Aguirre, Renteria and Stand played the No. 1 position
for the bulk of the season, while Thomas played at No. 2.
Renteria and Stand tied for the final spot on the All-SAC Singles
First Team. Renteria was also named the co-SAC Freshman of the
Year, sharing the award with Tusculum's Erin Mills.
Also earning first-team All-Conference honors were three doubles
tandems - Newberry's Aguirre and Romina Adum, Brevard's Dillman and
Michelle Prata, and Wingate's Evers and Thomas.
Aguirre and Adum finished the regular season at 19-4 overall,
Dillman and Prata went 11-6, and Evers and Thomas went 14-6. All
three duos played No. 1 for their respective teams.
With voting for the final All-SAC Singles First Team spot ending in
a tie, the singles Second Team consisted of only five honorees.
Earning selections to the team were Prata, Anderson's Owens,
Wingate's Morgan Winston, Mars Hill's Tatiana Dualiby and Catawba's
Sloan Kessler.
Rounding out the All-SAC Second Team were the doubles tandems of
LMU's Donoff and Aura Penalosa, Owens and Ching, and Catawba's
Renteria and Sloan Kessler.
Wingate's Michael Cabana was named the SAC Coach of the Year for
the third-straight season after leading the Bulldogs to the
regular-season conference title. WU went 9-0 in league play and
17-5 overall.
2013 SAC Women's Tennis Awards
Co-SAC Player of the Year: Claire Dillman, Brevard
Co-SAC Player of the Year: Leah Donoff, Lincoln Memorial
Co-SAC Freshman of the Year: Erin Mills, Tusculum
Co-SAC Freshman of the Year: Liz Renteria, Catawba
SAC Coach of the Year: Michael Cabana, Wingate
All-SAC First Team
Singles
Claire Dillman, BC ^+
Leah Donoff, LMU ^$@
Ali Evers, WU ^$
Susana Aguirre, NEW %
Becca Thomas, WU
Liz Renteria, CAT*
Stefy Stand, C-N*
Doubles
Susana Aguirre/Romina Adum, NEW
Claire Dillman/Michelle Prata, BC &
Ali Evers/Becca Thomas, WU #
All-SAC Second Team
Singles
Avery Owens, AU %
Morgan Winston, WU
Tatiana Dualiby, MHC ^+
Michelle Prata, BC
Sloan Kessler, CAT
Doubles
Leah Donoff/Aura Penalosa, LMU
Avery Owens/Karen Ching, AU
Sloan Kessler/Liz Renteria, CAT
* Tied for final first-team singles selection
^ 2012 All-SAC First Team Singles
# 2012 All-SAC First Team Doubles
% 2012 All-SAC Second Team Singles
& 2012 All-SAC Second Team Doubles
$ 2011 All-SAC First Team
+ 2011 All-SAC Second Team
@ 2010 All-SAC First Team
