Tuesday, April 12, 2011

MACON, Ga. – With a 10-0 mark at No. 1 singles, Jacksonville’s Eve Castaing picked up the 2011 Atlantic Sun Conference Women’s Tennis Player of the Year honors making her the second Dolphin to claim the honor (Emese Sulyos; 2004, 2007). Castaing dropped only two matches all season, while earning 19 wins to help the Dolphins return to the A-Sun Championship, which they previously won in 2007 and 2008.

Campbell earned the Freshman and Coach of the Year honors as Karolina Chernaya’s 10-0 league record at No. 2 singles gave her the nod, while the Camels’ David Johnson received his third A-Sun honor having previously won the Coach of the Year award in 2001 and the men’s accolade in 2007.

The 2010 Freshman of the Year, Carolina de los Santos from Stetson joined Chernaya as one of two unanimous selections to the All-Conference First Team after her 8-2 record in A-Sun play at No. 1 Singles. De los Santos’ doubles partner Unnati Purushotham accompanied her on the first team as the duo dropped only one match in conference play at No. 1 doubles.

UNF’s Aline Berkenbrock, the 2010 Player of the Year, became the conference’s 11th three-time all-conference first team selection, while her teammate Danielle Day earned her first first-team honors after picking up a second team nod last season.

Campbell’s Lisa Sutton and Kennesaw State’s Vera Shkundina capped off the first team by receiving their second career first-team honors with Sutton earning first last season and Shkundina in 2009.

ETSU, the A-Sun Regular Season Champions, placed two on the all-conference second team with Kelly Holtzhausen taking the No. 1 singles honor and Karina Kedzo earning the No. 4 singles.

Three Hatters landed on the all-freshman team with MayaBlue Stauffer-MacDowell, Sierra Sullivan and Lindsey Cable, while Jacksonville’s Flavia Nagayama and Gabriela Bartos gave the Dolphins the second most on the all-freshman team.

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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 five 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.