Irina Sotnikova named Academic All-Region
5/22/2009 8:30:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Irina Sotnikova, Sam Houston State senior women's tennis player, has been named as a second team selection on the ESPN The Magazine / College Sports Information Director'sAssociation (CoSIDA) Academic All-Region at-large honor squad.
Twenty student-athletics from NCAA Division I universities in CoSIDA District 6 (Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana) were selected to the regional honor squad. Athletes from the sports of women's golf, tennis, gymnastics, field hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing and swimming are eligible as at-large selections.
Sotnikova, a finance major with a 3.83 overall grade point average during her four years as a Bearkat, earned Southland Conference Women's Tennis “Player of the Year” honors in 2009 after compiling a 27-1 overall singles record and a 27-3 season doubles mark with partner Peta Taylor.
The Riga, Latvia, native earned first team All-Southland Conference honors in both singles and doubles and was named as Sam Houston State's “Most Valuable Player” for the four year in a row.
Sotnkiova ranks as Sam Houston State's all-time career leader in both singles with a 88-23 four-year record and doubles with a 97-21 will both her partners (Taylor and Lata Assudani) during her career. Each of her matches was played at Sam Houston's No. 1 singles and doubles position.
The senior is a three-time All-Southland selection. She was undefeated in singles play in league action in 2009. Sotnikova led the Bearkats to an 11-8 season record.
Sotnikova has earned academic recognition at Sam Houston State as a President's Scholar and Dean's List Student. She is a three-time Academic All-Southland Conference selection.
The 2009 ESPN THE MAGAZINE / CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-REGION AT LARGE TEAM
| FIRST TEAM | |||
| Student-Athlete | University | GPA | Major |
| Ella Doerge | Texas A&M | 4.00 | Genetics |
| Stephanie Carr | Arkansas | 3.97 | Journalism |
| Claire Clark | LSU | 4.00 | Kinesiology |
| Kathryn Kelly | Texas | 3.88 | Public Relations |
| Maria Gutierrez | Lamar | 3.92 | Civil Engineering |
| Sarah Woods | Texas A&M | 4.00 | Chemical Engineering |
| Emily Neal | Texas A&M | 4.00 | Political Science |
| Karin Minnerud | Oklahoma State | 4.00 | International Finance |
| Kate Ackerson | SMU | 3.89 | Business |
| Haley DeProspero | Oklahoma | 3.78 | Zoology |
| SECOND TEAM | |||
| Student-Athlete | University | GPA | Major |
| Irina Sotnikova | Sam Houston | 3.83 | Finance |
| Kendall Dye | Oklahoma | 3.40 | Communications |
| Ana-Maria Constantinescu | Oklahoma | 3.62 | Psychology |
| Gabriela Gadeva | Stephen F. Austin | 3.97 | Hospitality Administration |
| Holly Phillips | Texas-San Antonio | 3.95 | Biology |
| Susan Stangi | Tulsa | 4.00 | Speech Pathology |
| Amanda Johnson | Oklahoma State | 3.91 | Accounting |
| Hee-Jin Chang | Texas | 3.42 | Government |
| Jodi Ewart | New Mexico | 3.44 | Psychology |
| Jessica Livingston | Texas | 3.49 | Advertising |
