| April 21, 2005
Contact: Rick Nixon (210) 458-4551 Rossikhina and Hasking Named All-Southland Conference
PLANO, Texas - Blending experience with youth, senior Nadezda Rossikhina and freshman Tanya Hasking of the UTSA women's tennis team combined to earn a second team All-Southland Conference doubles accolade announced on Thursday by the league.
Rossikhina and Hasking combined for an 8-3 overall record this spring in doubles, while also posting an 8-2 mark in Southland matches.
Freshman Pavla Mesterova of the University of Texas at Arlington headlined the All-Southland Conference teams as the league’s player and freshman of the year. UTA claimed three of the four individual awards, including coach of the year. Southeastern Louisiana University received a total of five all-conference nods to lead all schools while McNeese State University grabbed four, all on the first team.
Five singles (1-3, 5-6) and one doubles position (3) were automatic first-team all-SLC. According to Southland policy, student-athletes and doubles teams that are perfect in conference, playing at least 50 percent of the matches in a position, automatically earn an all-conference position.
UTA continued its tradition of turning in top notch talent as Mesterova went undefeated in Southland play at the top singles flight with a perfect 10-0 mark, the same as the team’s unbeaten record this year. Mesterova, who is the fifth consecutive Lady Maverick to be named freshman of the year, is the first netter to garner both player and rookie honors in the same year.
Monika Peciulionyte was the other automatic all-league pick for UTA as the sophomore went 6-0 at No. 3 singles to collect her second straight first-team honor. It is the first in singles for the native from Siauliai, Lithuania, as Peciulionyte was named to the first unit in doubles last year.
For the second straight year, UTA’s Christian Wassmer was voted SLC coach of the year by his peers for guiding the Lady Mavericks to their sixth regular-season title and second straight. UTA is now tied with ULM for the most regular-season titles (6) in the SLC. Wassmer leads all head women’s tennis coaches in the Southland with a league-best four honors.
The accolade for SLC newcomer of the year belongs to Sam Houston State University’s Lata Assundani. The sophomore played at the top singles flight for the Bearkats all season, posting a 6-4 mark in league play. Assundani, who hails from Nagpur, India, is the second Bearkat, along with Ivette Andrade in 2000, to take the award.
Two singles and three doubles later, Southeastern Louisiana posted its best season in 2005 as the Lady Lions finished in second place with a 9-1 SLC record. SLU’s Emilija Arnaudovska and Zdenka Puflerova are the lone doubles pair on the All-SLC first-team at No. 2 while Breda Kovac and Nina Knavs, the top doubles duo on the team, and the No. 3 doubles tandem of Jana Simurkova and Bonnie Phillips occupy the second unit. The Lady Lions also grabbed two singles on the second squad with Arnaudovska at No. 2 and Knavs in No. 3.
McNeese State University also had an impressive campaign as four of the Cowgirls went undefeated in their respective flights to receive automatics to the All-SLC first-team. Ann Grobbelaar and Marina Gando compiled identical 7-0 records in singles play at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively, while the No. 3 doubles team of Magali Risoleo and Urska Dobersek were 5-0 in league action. Sophomore Madeleine Hakansson was voted to the first team at the No. 4 singles flight for an 8-1 conference record.
Five other schools received all-conference recognition as Nataliya Ostrovska from the University of Louisiana at Monroe turned in an 8-0 SLC record in singles to land an automatic at No. 2.
Lamar University collected three all-conference selections, a doubles team on the first unit and two singles on the second, while Texas State University, Stephen F. Austin State University and UTSA each had a representative on the second team.
2005 ALL-SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS TEAMS
FIRST TEAM
SINGLES
No. 1 #Pavla Mesterova Texas-Arlington Fr. Prague, Czech Republic
No. 2 #Nataliya Ostrovska Louisiana-Monroe Sr. Kiev, Ukraine
No. 3 #Monika Peciulionyte Texas-Arlington So. Siauliai, Lithuania
No. 4 Madeleine Hakansson McNeese State So. Gothenburg, Sweden
No. 5 #Ann Grobbelaar McNeese State Jr. Craddock, South Africa
No. 6 #Marina Gando McNeese State Sr. Buenos Aires, Argentina
DOUBLES
No. 1 Andrea Martinez So. Durango, Mexico
Tara Shelander Lamar So. Beaumont, Texas No. 2 Emilija Arnaudovska Fr. Belgrade, Serbia
Zdenka Puflerova Southeastern La. Sr. Horni Slavkov, Czech Republic
No. 3 #Magali Risoleo Sr. Buenos Aires, Argentina
#Urska Dobersek McNeese State Sr. Makole, Slovenia
SECOND TEAM
SINGLES
No. 1 Andrea Martinez Lamar So. Durango, Mexico
No. 2 Emilija Arnaudovska Southeastern La. Fr. Belgrade, Serbia
No. 3 Hayley Bakker Lamar Sr. Melbourne, Australia
No. 4 Nina Knavs Southeastern La. Fr. Ljubljana, Slovenia
No. 5 Tina Klemenc Texas State Sr. Zjorna Lipnica, Slovenia
No. 6 Kama Scott Stephen F. Austin Jr. Abilene, Texas
DOUBLES
No. 1 Breda Kovac Fr. Ljubljana, Slovenia
Nina Knavs Southeastern La. Fr. Ljubljana, Slovenia
No. 2 Nadezda Rossikhina Sr. Volgograd, Russia
Tanya Hasking UTSA Fr. Basingstoke, England
No. 3 Jana Simurkova Fr. Slovac Republic
Bonnie Phillips Southeastern La. Fr. TePuke, New Zealand
#Automatic first team based on undefeated conference record at position nominated.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Pavla Mesterova, Texas-Arlington
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Pavla Mesterova, Texas-Arlington
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Lata Assundani, Sam Houston State
COACH OF THE YEAR: Christian Wassmer, Texas-Arlington
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