PROVIDENCE, R.I. (April 25, 2007) ? Senior Shadisha Robinson was named the women's Most Outstanding Player and head coach Agustin Moreno was honored as the women's Coach of the Year following the University of South Florida women's tennis team's first BIG EAST Championship. Four other members of the team received All-Tournament recognition, the conference office announced Wednesday evening.
The women's All-Tournament team for singles includes Robinson, junior Courtney Vernon and sophomore Iciri Rai. It was Rai's pivotal three-set win against Notre Dame's Katie Potts that clinched the crown for USF on Sunday.
The doubles pairs of Robinson and Vernon and senior Gabriela Duch and freshman Jessica Sweeting were honored as well.
Robinson did not lose a singles match in the tournament, downing Notre Dame's Catrina Thompson in the No. 1 singles' finals in the third set 6-1. Thompson is ranked No. 26 nationally. Vernon seized the Bulls' first point of the title match with a straight-set win over the Irish's Christian Thompson at No. 2. She earns her second-straight BIG EAST All-Tournament singles nod, having been named to the singles team last year as well.
Duch claims her second consecutive doubles accolade, as she and partner Neyssa Etienne were voted to the 2006 squad en route to All-America status last year.
For Moreno, receiving such recognition in just his second season as head coach is something special. "This is truly an honor," he said. "It's a great accomplishment all-around for the team as well. I'm very proud of them."
The Bulls used 4-0 wins over DePaul and Louisville to advance to the title match of the 2007 BIG EAST Championships where the team upset second-ranked Notre Dame, 4-3. At the conclusion of the tournament, athletes were voted on by each institution's head coach who cannot vote for their own player.
In claiming the title over Notre Dame, the Bulls earned their fifth win over a ranked opponent this season and finished the year 5-0 in BIG EAST play.
The wins gave the USF women an automatic berth in the NCAA Championship, which begins May 11-13 at campus sites. The full 64-team draw will be announced on Tuesday, May 1, on ESPNews at 2:30 ET.
BIG EAST TENNIS MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYERS:
Stephen Bass, Notre Dame
Shadisha Robinson, USF
Coach of The Year:
Men: Bob Bayliss, Notre Dame
Women: Agustin Moreno, USF
Women's All-Tournament Team:
Singles: (10)
Dunja Antunovic, DePaul
Lauren Imre, Louisville
Iciri Rai, USF
Colleen Rielley, Notre Dame
Shadisha Robinson, USF
Courtney Vernon, USF
Kelcy Tefft, Notre Dame
Catrina Thompson, Notre Dame
Christian Thompson, Notre Dame
Olga Votavova, Syracuse
*Doubles: (*6)
Shannon Brown and Lauren Little, Marquette
Brook Buck and Kelcy Tefft, Notre Dame
Catrina Thompson and Christian Thompson, Notre Dame
Gabriela Duch and Jessica Sweeting, USF
Shadisha Robinson and Courtney Vernon, USF
Olga Votavova and Maria Vasilyeva, Syracuse
*Due to a tie in voting, an additional doubles team as been added
