Wednesday, April 14, 2010

MACON, Ga. – The Atlantic Sun Conference announced its 2010 women’s tennis awards and all-conference teams Wednesday. UNF headlines Player of the Year Aline Berkenbrock, while ETSU ended its regular season campaign with the No. 1 seed in the A-Sun Championship and two players earning First-Team All-Atlantic Sun honors.

Berkenbrock earned Player of the Year honors after going undefeated in singles matches on the season, having beaten nationally ranked players from ETSU, UCF, Purdue, Stetson and College of Charleston. In doubles play, Berkenbrock owns a 21-7 tally on the season, including a 10-0 mark in league play. UNF head coach Rodrigo Puebla earned Coach of the Year accolades after finishing with a nearly perfect overall mark of 18-2, only falling to nonconference opponent College of Charleston and league foe ETSU.

Stetson claims a pair of all-conference performers in Carolina de los Santos and Valentina Galbarini. De los Santos earned Freshman of the Year honors, in addition to First-Team All-Atlantic Sun accolades after finishing regular season play at 15-6 overall and 6-4 in A-Sun matches. The freshman has played throughout the top half, but has usually seen action at the No. 1 position, owning a 10-3 record. In doubles play with partner Galbarini, the duo posted a 17-5 mark to earn a national ranking of 57, and the pair has held a ranking for a majority of the season, including topping out at No. 37. De los Santos has also earned five, 6-0, 6-0, shutout wins, including two in league play and finished as an ITA Southeast region doubles semifinalist in the fall. Galbarini finished with a 13-6 overall record and an 8-2 tally in A-Sun matches, in addition to a 10-1 mark at No. 2 singles with seven straight victories. The senior native of Montevideo, Uruguay also finished as an ITA Southeast region doubles semifinalist at the in the fall.

Jacksonville’s representation on the First-Team All-Atlantic Sun squad comes courtesy of Eve Castaing and Tatiana Soldatova. Castaing recorded a phenomenal junior season with the Dolphins. After a season-opening loss to North Texas, the top performer did not drop a single match for the rest of the year. The Dax, France native has lost just two sets during the entire season. In conference play, Castaing has conceded just 41 games, an average of 4.5 games per match. Only Stetson and Campbell took the top performer to three sets.

Fellow Dolphin Soldatova joined Castaing with First-Team All-Atlantic Sun honors. After Soldatova fell to North Texas in her season opener, she went on a 13-match winning streak where she dropped just three sets. The Birobidzhan, Russia native’s only losses in-conference came against UNF, ETSU and Kennesaw State. Soldatova recorded wins with two different partners, Castaing and Iva Jaresova, including an 8-6 win against ETSU.

ETSU features a pair of all-conference performers in Yevgeniya Stupak and Paula Jaime. Preseason Player of the Year Yevgeniya Stupak leads the Lady Buccaneers charge with career wins over an NCAA Singles Champion and 33 nationally ranked ladies. Stupak owns victories over seven nationally ranked players and 13 players from nationally ranked teams and tallied only one unranked loss this year. Jaime lost 45 games while going undefeated (10-0) at No. 3 singles in conference play (4.5 games lost per match). The Madrid, Spain native defeated No. 37 Maria Sorbello in a 4-3 team loss to No. 11 Tennessee. Jaime also defeated players from 10 nationally ranked teams and only lost one conference doubles match.

Campbell’s top performer Lisa Sutton rounds out the First-Team All-Atlantic Sun as the junior recorded an extraordinary junior season with the Lady Camels. Sutton has played each singles match at the No. 1 position and won six matches in a row from February 23 to March 13 and the top performer also owns a 6-3 mark in A-Sun play. Sutton started out the season having won nine matches in a row in doubles play with partner Borislava Nikolova. The Kelsall, England native also won two doubles matches during the Elon Fall Invitational and the duo advanced to the round of 16 at the ITA Regionals

The 2010 Atlantic Sun Women’s Tennis Championship begins Thursday with a matchup between No. 3 Stetson and No. 6 Mercer at 2 p.m. No. 4 Campbell and No. 5 Kennesaw State will face each other in a match scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.