Monday, 04/29/2013

Junior Samantha Vickers earned Tulsa’s first Conference USA Women’s Tennis Player of the Year accolade, while Vickers and sophomore Isaura Enrique were named to the All-C-USA Doubles First Team and picked up Doubles Team of the Championship honors, the league announced today.

Vickers, ranked No. 17 in singles competition, holds a 21-1 ledger this spring and a 31-3 record this season. She is riding a 17-match winning streak, and has 11 triumphs over ranked opponents, including a win over No. 18-ranked Jenny Jullien of Saint Mary’s College. Vickers was named C-USA Player of the Week four times during the spring season.

This also marks the first time TU has had a doubles tandem named to the first-team all-conference squad. Vickers and Enrique snared a 20-3 record this spring and a 33-4 overall record. The duo attained a school-high doubles ranking of No. 9 on Jan. 3, and totaled 11 triumphs against ranked opponents.  Vickers and Enrique are ranked No. 15 in the country in this week’s ITA Rankings.

Vickers and Enrique also were named the Outstanding Doubles Team of the Championship after going 3-0 in the tournament. The pair collected victories wins over No. 71-ranked Courtney Collins and Kelly Gray of Memphis, and No.20-ranked Natalie Beazant and Dominique Harmath of Rice

Also earning all-conference singles honors were Enrique and senior Michelle Farley.

Enrique, playing No. 2 singles for the Hurricane, earned an 11-8 record during the spring season. She won C-USA Player of the Week honors on April 2 after she led TU to a 4-3 win over No. 16 Notre Dame with a 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 win over Jennifer Kellner.

 
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Farley earned a 17-6 record in the spring season in singles, including an 11-6 record at No. 3 singles for TU. She ended the season on a six-match winning streak, and was 9-1 at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center this year. TU was 11-0 in home contests, and now is riding a 45-match winning-streak at the Case Center.

“I’m really pleased for our winners,” commented Head Coach Dean Orford. “Sam has made great strides this year, so far. I’m really looking forward to see what she can do in the upcoming month in the NCAA Championship. Sam and Isaura have played fantastic in doubles this year becoming one of the premier duos in the nation. They have a lot of tennis ahead of them, and I’m very proud of the team overall.”

Tulsa will wait to see if they earn an at-large selection into the NCAA Tennis Championships. The announcement will made Tuesday, April 30, at 5:30 p.m. on the NCAA Division I Tennis Championships Selection Show televised on NCAA.com

For all Tulsa Women's tennis news and information, visit www.TulsaHurricane.com. Follow Tulsa Athletics on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TulsaHurricane and Facebook at www.facebook.com/TulsaHurricane. Follow Tulsa Women's Tennis on Twitter (http://twitter.com/TulsaWTennis) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/TulsaWTennis)

ALL-C-USA SINGLES TEAM

First Team

Courtney Collins, Memphis

Natalie Beazant, Rice

Dominique Harmath, Rice

Aleksandra Malyarchikova, SMU

Edyta Cieplucha, SMU

Klara Vyskocilova, Tulane

Samantha Vickers, Tulsa

Genevieve Lorbergs, UCF

Second Team

Elena Kordolaimi, Houston

Dominika Zaprazna, Marshall

Alyssa Hibberd, Memphis

Tiffany Welcher, Memphis

Diana Ivanov, Old Dominion

Emma Levy, Tulane

Isaura Enrique, Tulsa

Michelle Farley, Tulsa

Third Team

Melis Tanik, East Carolina

Skylar Kuykendall, Memphis

Caroline Wegner, Memphis

Katie Gater, Rice

Liat Zimmermann, Rice

Vaszilisza Bulgakova, SMU

Isabel Fernandez, UAB

Rebeca Calvillo, UTEP

ALL-C-USA DOUBLES

First Team

Samantha Vickers/Isaura Enrique, Tulsa

Second Team

Natalie Beazant/Dominique Harmath, Rice

Third Team

Stefanie Mikesz/Caroline Wegner, Memphis

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Samantha Vickers, Tulsa

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

Skylar Kuykendall, Memphis

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Liat Zimmermann, Rice

SINGLES OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP

Dominique Harmath, Rice

DOUBLES OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP

Samantha Vickers/Isaura Enrique, Tulsa

COACH OF THE YEAR

Elizabeth Schmidt, Rice