FRISCO, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana senior
Iva Velkovska was named to the 2009 All-Southland Conference Women’s Tennis Teams, which were announced by the league office on Thursday.
Velkovska, a Skopje, Macedonia native, was selected to the second team at the No. 1 singles position. To Southeastern head coach
Jason Hayes, Velkovska’s leadership of her young team, which played with five student-athletes in all but one SLC match this spring, even overshadowed her outstanding performance on the court.
“Iva’s been an extremely talented tennis player since the day she stepped on campus as a freshman, so her performance on the court was no surprise,” Hayes commented. “It’s no secret we’ve had a tough season both on and off the court, which a lesser person would’ve used as a crutch to not put out the maximum effort. Iva didn’t do that and her teammates followed her lead of hard work and giving 100 percent every time out. Having a student-athlete like Iva made everyone on our team better.”
This season, Velkovska took over as the No. 1 singles player for the Lady Lions and was dominant. She posted a 19-2 singles record during the spring. In her four years with Southeastern, she finished her career with a singles mark of 81-13 – two short of the school’s career record for singles victories.
The postseason honor was the latest in a long line of accolades for Velkovska. As a freshman, she was named the Louisiana Player of the Year, as well as the Freshman of the Year by the SLC and LSWA and the Southeastern Female Athlete of the Year after setting a single-season school record for singles victories with a 23-2 singles mark.
In her time with Southeastern, she has been named first team All-Louisiana in each of the previous three seasons, an All-SLC singles performer three times, an All-SLC doubles player twice and was a five-time SLC Player of the Week. She was also a key component of Southeastern’s three SLC regular season titles, as well as its two league tournament titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Sam Houston State’s Irina Sotnikova was named SLC Player of the Year, Texas State’s Kiki Cruse was selected as the Newcomer of the Year, Stephen F. Austin’s Alina Shazhko was tabbed SLC Freshman of the Year and UT Arlington head coach Diego Martinez was named SLC Coach of the Year after leading the Lady Mavs to the SLC regular season crown.
The All-Southland Conference Women’s Tennis Teams were selected by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
2009 All-Southland Conference Women’s Tennis Teams
First Team
Singles
No. 1 Irina Sotnikova – Sam Houston State – Sr. – Riga, Latvia
No. 2 Maria Gutierrez – Lamar – Sr. – San Antonio, Venezuela
No. 3 Kathrin Lange – Northwestern State – So. – Emmingen, Germany
No. 4 Holly Phillips – UTSA – Jr. – Rochester, N.Y.
No. 5 Kiki Kruse – Texas State – Jr. – Klingelbach, Germany
No. 6 Nikola Matovivoa – UT Arlington – Fr. – Bratislava, Slovaka
Doubles
No. 1 Irina Sotnikova/Peta Taylor – Sam Houston State – Sr./Jr. – Riga, Latvia/Ardross, Australia
No. 2 Kathrin Lange/Bianca Schulz – Northwestern State – So./So. – Emmingen, Germany/Wiesenstiasse, Germany
No. 3 – Nathalie Wallin/Holly Phillips – UTSA – Sr./Jr. – Stockholm, Sweden/Rochester, N.Y.
Second Team
Singles
No. 1 Iva Velkovska – Southeastern Louisiana – Sr. – Skopje, Macedonia
No. 2 Ashley Ellis – Texas State – Sr. – Amarillo, Texas
No. 3 Peta Taylor – Sam Houston State – Sr. – Ardross, Australia
No. 4 Katarina Micochova – UT Arlington – Fr. – Bratislava, Slovaka
No. 5 Maria Martinez-Romer – UT Arlington – Fr. – Nules, Spain
No. 6 Mackenzie Farmer – Texas State – Jr. – Middletown, Ohio
Doubles
No. 1 Olga Bazhanova/Dragana Colic – Northwestern State – Fr./So. – Nikolaev, Ukraine/Busouvaca, Bosnia and Herzegovina
No. 2 Nikola Matovivoa/Maria Martinez-Romer – UT Arlington – Fr./Fr. – Bratislva, Slovaka/Nules, Spain
No. 3 Adna Curukovic/Daniela Posada – Northwestern State – So./Sr. – Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovka/Cali, Colombia
Player of the Year: Irina Sotnikova, Sam Houston State
Newcomer of the Year: Kiki Kruse, Texas State
Freshman of the Year: Alina Shazhko, Stephen F. Austin
Coach of the Year: Diego Benitez, UT Arlington