FRISCO, Texas – The Southland Conference announced the annual Women’s Tennis awards and all-conference teams ahead of this week’s conference tournament.
The superlative awards were led by UIW’s Brandelyn Fulgenzi taking Player of the Year, New Orleans’ Didi Bredberg Canizares winning Freshman of the Year, A&M-Corpus Christi’s Naomi Moi McKenzie earning Newcomer of the Year, and the Islanders’ Steve Moore winning Coach of the Year.
Fulgenzi is the first UIW Cardinal to win Player of the Year honors, as she earned First Team All-Conference at No. 1 singles as well as No. 1 doubles with teammate Estefania Gonzalez. Fulgenzi went 6-1 in conference play at No. 1 singles with a conference-best 15-2 overall mark at No. 1 singles. Fulgenzi and Gonzalez were a perfect 7-0 at No. 1 doubles in conference action and were also undefeated overall, going 16-0 over the course of the season.
Bredberg Canizares is the first Privateer to win Freshman of the Year honors. She went 4-3 in conference play at No. 1 singles to earn second team all-conference, with an 11-3 overall singles record. She teamed up with Raluca Puscas at No. 2 doubles to earn second team all-conference honors with a 5-2 league mark and 11-4 overall record.
McKenzie is the second Islander to win the Newcomer of the Year award, joining Kei Kato, who won in 2019. She was a first team all-conference honoree at No. 2 singles with a 6-1 conference record and 11-6 overall mark.
Moore wins his third Coach of the Year award after winning in 2016 and 2017. He became the conference’s all-time wins leader in women’s tennis as the Islanders went 22-2 overall on the season with a perfect 7-0 SLC record. This was the Islanders’ third consecutive 20-plus win season as they will be the top seed in this week’s Southland Championships.
First team all-conference winners were Fulgenzi at No. 1 singles with a 6-1 conference record, McKenzie (6-1) at No. 2 singles, Northwestern State’s Paige Wise (5-2) at No. 3 singles, A&M-Corpus Christi’s Valeria Cherfus (5-0) at No. 4 singles, A&M-Corpus Christi’s Victoire Delattre (5-0) at No. 5 singles, and Lamar’s Megan Do (4-1) at No. 6 singles.
All of the first team doubles pairs went undefeated in league play with UIW’s Fulgenzi and Gonzalez going 7-0 at No. 1, Lamar’s Ana Jolic and Noelia Lorca going 4-0 at No. 2 doubles, and A&M-Corpus Christi’s Cherfus and Kateryna Rublevska going 5-0 at No. 3 doubles.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Brandelyn Fulgenzi, UIW
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Didi Bredberg Canizares, New Orleans
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Naomi Moi McKenzie, A&M-Corpus Christi
COACH OF THE YEAR: Steve Moore, A&M-Corpus Christi
| Flight |
First Team |
Second Team |
| No. 1 Singles |
Brandelyn Fulgenzi, UIW |
Didi Bredberg Canizares, New Orleans |
| No. 2 Singles |
Naomi Moi McKenzie, A&M-Corpus Christi |
Ayu Ishibashi, Northwestern State |
| No. 3 Singles |
Paige Wise, Northwestern State |
Carla Del Barrio, Southeastern |
| No. 4 Singles |
Valeria Cherfus, A&M-Corpus Christi |
Kate Oborina, Southeastern |
| No. 5 Singles |
Victoire Delattre, A&M-Corpus Christi |
Maria Wang Martinez, McNeese |
| No. 6 Singles |
Megan Do, Lamar |
Ariane Monlleo Sanchis, McNeese |
| No. 1 Doubles |
Brandelyn Fulgenzi/Estefania Gonzalez, UIW |
Flory Bierma/Putri Insani, Southeastern |
| No. 2 Doubles |
Ana Jolic/Noelia Lorca, Lamar |
Didi Bredberg Canizares/Raluca Puscas, New Orleans |
| No. 3 Doubles |
Valeria Cherfus/Kateryna Rublevska, A&M-Corpus Christi |
Dorota Szczygielska/Sofi Garcia, Northwestern State |
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