Yamalapalli tennis POY, Kats earn All-SLC honors

FRISCO — After capping the regular season undefeated, Sam Houston junior Sahaja Yamalapalli has been named the Southland Conference Tennis Player of the Year, league officials announced Wednesday.

Yamalapalli is also one of five Bearkats to be named to the All-Southland Conference teams along with senior Constandena Nicolaou, junior Karla De La Luz Montalvo and sophomores Isidora Zivkovic and Petra Kaszas.

Yamalapalli, who also earned Player of the Year in 2019, has put together one of the most impressive seasons in school history in leading Sam Houston to its first Southland Conference championship. She went 11-0 at No. 1 singles in league play which was the best singles record at any position, and she did not lose a single set.

The first-team All-SLC selection is 17-0 overall in dual match play this spring. Yamalapalli also teamed with junior Roos Gerritsen and Sahithi Vutukuru to go 8-4 in No. 1 doubles.

De La Luz Montalvo and Kaszas were the Bearkats' top doubles team in conference play this spring. They almost pulled off an undefeated season in the No. 3 spot, going 9-1 which tied for the most wins at any doubles position this season to receive first-team All-SLC accolades.

Nicolaou has been solid in the No. 4 spot for Sam Houston this spring which earned her second-team All-SLC honors. Despite missing the final three matches due to injury, she put together a remarkable season. She is 7-1 in conference play which was a key to the Bearkats winning their first league championship.

Montalvo was steady for Sam Houston at No. 2 singles in conference play. She started SLC action 3-0 at No. 3 but made the transition to No. 2 and finished the year 6-2, winning valuable matches to earn third-team All-SLC honors.

Zivkovic started conference play by going 2-1 at No. 2 singles but found her niche at No. 3 where she was named as an All-SLC selection. She won some important matches for the Bearkats and went 6-2 to finish 8-3 overall as Sam Houston went 10-1 to finish tied for first in conference play.

2021 All-Southland Conference Women's Tennis Teams and Individual Awards

Player of the Year: Sahaja Yamalapalli, Sam Houston
Freshman of the Year: Emma Aucagne, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Newcomer of the Year: Lina Hohnhold, New Orleans
Coach of the Year: Burzis Kanga, New Orleans

First-Team Singles
No. 1 Sahaja Yamalapalli, Sam Houston²
No. 2 Lina Hohnhold, New Orleans
No. 3 Yada Vasupongchai, Central Arkansas
No. 4 Emma Aucagne, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
No. 5 Emilija Dancetovic, Northwestern State
No. 6 Victoire Delattre, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Second-Team Singles
No. 1 Ank Vullings, New Orleans
No. 2 Fuka Nonoyama, Central Arkansas²
No. 3 Emma Honore, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
No. 4 Constandena Nicolaou, Sam Houston
No. 5 Leopoldine Boisseau, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
No. 6 Lea Alguacil, New Orleans

Third-Team Singles
No. 1 Putri Insani, Southeastern Louisiana
No. 2 Karla De La Luz Montalvo, Sam Houston
No. 3 Isidora Zivkovic, Sam Houston²
No. 4 Lucy Furness, Stephen F. Austin
No. 5 Salma Abdelrahim, New Orleans
No. 6 Sumomo Hamanaga, Central Arkansas

First-Team Doubles
No. 1 Chunxi Xin/Fuka Nonoyama, Central Arkansas
No. 2 Ank Vullings/Lea Alguacil, New Orleans
No. 3 Karla De La Luz Montalvo/Petra Kaszas, Sam Houston²

Second-Team Doubles
No. 1 Mariya Shumeika/Camille Townsend, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
No. 2 Annie Walker/Paula Cerda, Stephen F. Austin
No. 3 Maja Gledic/Jaeun Lee, Central Arkansas

Third-Team Doubles
No. 1 Nini Memishishi/Illeana Mocciola, Abilene Christian
No. 2 Emma Aucagne/Emma Honore, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
No. 3 Emilija Dancetovic/Dorota Szczygielska, Northwestern State

² – Two-time all-conference selection

Yamalapalli tennis POY, Kats earn All-SLC honors

Players Mentioned

Karla De La Luz Montalvo

Roos Gerritsen

Petra Kaszas

Constandena Nicolaou

Sahithi Vutukuru

Sahaja Yamalapalli

Isidora Zivkovic

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