IRVING, Texas - FIU sophomore Andrea Lazaro was named the C-USA Women’s Tennis Player of the Year following a 20-4 mark on the year, including posting a 14-1 record at the No. 1 spot. The Panther star closed her campaign with seven consecutive wins. She was nationally ranked majority of the season, ranking as high as No. 28. The Barcelona, Spain, native went 2-0 against C-USA action and had a 4-2 mark against ranked competition. She was also named a first-team doubles selection with partner Nina Nagode after the combo went 13-2 (.867) on the year.
 
WKU’s Jonatan Berhane earns his first Coach of the Year honor after guiding the Lady Toppers to a 13-6 mark after finishing 9-6 last season. Berhane also led WKU to the program’s first Conference USA semifinals championship match. The Lady Toppers boasts three all-conference selections, including first-team selection Elpida Malamou.
 
Rice registered a league-high three specialty awards as junior Wendy Zhang was tabbed C-USA Newcomer of the Year. Zhang, who was also named first team all-conference tied for the team lead with 15 singles wins, finishing at 15-5, including a 9-1 mark at the third line in singles. The two-time C-USA Athlete of the Week went 8-0 in her last nine matches, all in straight sets and lost four games in only one set. She was also earned first-team doubles distinction with teammate Lindsey Hodge after finishing 16-7. The pair is currently ranked 77th by the ITA and was 11-5 at the first line and won seven of their last 10. The duo also claimed the Outstanding Doubles Team of the Championship after going 2-0 at the C-USA Championship, clinching the doubles point against North Texas and FIU.
 
Hodge was selected as a first-teamer for the second-straight year after finishing the season with a career-best 13-4 record, including a 9-2 mark at the first line in singles. The Roswell, Georgia, native went 3-2 against ranked opponents, including a pair of wins over ranked foes at the C-USA Championship earning her Outstanding Singles Player of the Championship. She earned C-USA Athlete of the Week after defeating Texas’ No. 26 ranked player in straight sets and currently sits at No. 81. Teammate Katherine Ip earned her fourth-straight first-team selection after finishing with a 12-3 record in singles this year and posted a career winning percentage of 75 percent (57-19). She won her last seven matches of the year, including a pair of wins at the C-USA Championship and ends her career with an 8-1 mark at the C-USA Championship in singles play.
 
After being ranked in singles all spring, Holly Hutchinson of Old Dominion was selected the C-USA Freshman of the Year. Hutchinson was also named to the first-team after being the highest-ranked freshman in the league for the entire year and defeating the No. 11 singles player from Vanderbilt in the fall. The Middlesex, England, native compiled a 10-5 record playing at the No. 1 and No. 2 spot, finishing 4-4 at the No. 1 position and 6-1 at No. 2 position. She was ranked as high as No. 57 and is currently ranked No. 105. Teammates Borislava Botusharova and Ingrid Vojcinakova earned a spot on the All-C-USA first team. Botusharova has been nationally ranked in singles all year and recorded an 11-3 record in dual match campaign currently stands at No. 98 on the latest Oracle/ITA Rankings. Vojcinakova ended the season playing No. 1 singles for the Lady Monarchs and had an overall singles record of 10-4.
 
FIU sophomore Maryna Veksler the 2016 C-USA Freshman of the Year, joins teammate Lazaro on the All-Conference first team list. The second-straight All-C-USA selectee, recorded an overall mark of 23-6 (.793) with a record of 16-3 (.842) in dual matches. She won nine of her last 11 decisions and posted a season-best seven-match winning streak from Jan. 24 to Feb. 25. Veksler was also named to the doubles second-team list after she and teammate Ulyana Grib notched a 24-5 (.827) record in doubles action, including a team-best 15-2 (.882) mark in dual action.
 
Senior Derya Turhan of Marshall claims her third-straight first-team honor after compiling a singles record of 18-4 (.818), and playing every match at the No. 1 position. The Bad Salzuflen, Germany, native registered an impressive 4-0 mark against nationally ranked opponents and she spent seven weeks in the singles national rankings, reaching as high as No. 90.
 
North Texas’ sophomore Maria Kononova ended the year first in the league in doubles wins and second in singles wins to earn All-C-USA first team distinction. The No. 78 ranked singles player posted a 5-­-2 record this season against ranked opponents and ended the year with a program record 18 wins and a .782 win percentage. A three-time C-­-USA Athlete of the Week recipient, Kononova defeated Oklahoma’s No. 1 who was ranked No. 16 by the ITA on Feb. 10. She and her doubles partner Tamuna Kutubidze were named to the all-conference doubles first team after posting a program-record 17-­-1 mark at the No. 1 position.
 
Senior Miriam Rosell Canudas of UTSA won a total of 31 matches in 2016-17, including 20 in dual-match singles play this spring. The C-USA All-Conference first team selection also became the first ranked player in UTSA history when she debuted at No. 51 back in January.
 
UAB senior Pardis Kianoush rounds out the first team she finished the season with an 8-4 singles record, while playing at the No. 1 position all season long. Kianoush earned a No. 88 national ranking from ITA on Feb. 6 after recording three wins in the top 100.
 
The entire 2017 All-Conference USA Women's Tennis selections and Specialty Awards are listed below:
 
2016-17 CONFERENCE USA WOMEN'S TENNIS AWARDS
Player of the Year: Andrea Lazaro, FIU
Freshman of the Year: Holly Hutchinson, Old Dominion
Newcomer of the Year: Wendy Zhang, Rice
Outstanding Singles Player of the Championship: Lindsey Hodge, Rice
Outstanding Doubles Team of the Championship: Lindsey Hodge/Wendy Zhang, Rice
Coach of the Year: Jonatan Berhane, WKU
 
All-Conference USA Singles
1st Team
Andrea Lazaro, FIU
Maryna Veksler, FIU
Derya Turhan, Marshall
Maria Kononova, North Texas
Borislava Botusharova, Old Dominion
Holly Hutchinson, Old Dominion
Ingrid Vojcinakova, Old Dominion
Lindsey Hodge, Rice
Katherine Ip, Rice
Wendy Zhang, Rice
Pardis Kianoush, UAB
Miriam Rosell Canudas, UTSA
Elpida Malamou, WKU

2nd Team
Tai Martin, Charlotte
Ulyana Grib, FIU
Mina Markovic, FIU
Jazmin Britos, Louisiana Tech
Maddie Silver, Marshall
Stephanie Smith, Marshall
Costanza Magazzini, Middle Tennessee
Tamuna Kutubidze, North Texas
Savannah Durkin, Rice
Alison Ho, Rice
Carolin Drescher, Southern Miss
Monica Malinen, WKU

3rd Team
Sasha Lee, Charlotte
Victoria Pahlett, Charlotte
Gabriela Ferreira, FIU
Lyndsey Boos, Florida Atlantic
Nadja Manjon, Louisiana Tech
Rachael Morales, Marshall
Anna Pomyatinskaya, Marshall
Lidia Burrows, Middle Tennessee
Minying Liang, North Texas
Alexis Thoma, North Texas
Fernanda Astete, Rice
Alex Kitchen, Southern Miss

All-Conference USA Doubles
1st Team
Nina Nagode/Andrea Lazaro, FIU
Maria Kononova/Tamuna Kutubidze, North Texas
Lindsey Hodge/Wendy Zhang, Rice

2nd Team
Maryna Veksler/ Ulyana Grib, FIU
Derya Turhan/Anna Pomyatinskaya, Marshall
Holly Hutchinson/Ingrid Vojcinakova, ODU

3rd Team
Savannah Durkin/Katherine Ip, Rice
Cindy Oest/Natalia De Ugarte/WKU
Alison Ho/Priya Niezgoda, Rice
 
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