LAFAYETTE, La. - The Sun Belt Conference announced the 2013 All-Conference tennis teams on Wednesday at the awards banquet prior to the start of the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Highlighting the field on the men’s side are Daniel Leitner from South Alabama and Victor Valente from Georgia State who earned top-100 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Singles Rankings. At No. 77, sophomore Daniel Leitner was the highest ranked player in the league and finished the season 11-5 overall and 10-4 at No. 1 singles. The Niederfischbach, Germany native also posted a 4-1 record against nationally ranked opponents.
Valente, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, earned a No. 89 singles ranking and defeated six nationally ranked opponents on the year. He registered a 16-4 season record at No. 1 singles and enters the SBC Championships on a three-match winning streak.
Valente and Lucas Santa Ana (Brasilia, Brazil) finished at No. 43 in the ITA Doubles rankings and earned All-Conference First-Team Doubles honors. The duo turned in a stellar 13-1 season, including 7-1 at the No. 1 position and 6-0 at No. 2. The seniors also went 3-0 against SBC opponents.
Representing top-seeded Middle Tennessee, junior Ben Davis earned First-Team Singles and Doubles accolades. Against top competition, the London, England native held his ground at No. 1 singles with a 13-9 record. Davis has big wins over No. 29 Andreas Bjerrehus (Virginia Tech), No. 114 Spencer Wolf (Northwestern) and No. 125 Austin Powell (N.C. State).
Davis enters the SBC Championships having won his last two singles matches. In doubles, he and freshman Victor Cornea tallied an 11-4 record and a No. 60 national ranking.
Louisiana-Lafayette’s Rick de Groot rounded out the All-Conference First-Team with a 14-9 singles record and 13 wins at the No. 1 position. The junior has a resume that includes a pair of wins over regionally ranked challengers and one over a nationally ranked opponent from Samford in straight-sets.
The Pekala, Holland native also earned All-Conference Second Team Doubles recognition with freshman Jake Wynan. At No. 1 doubles, the tandem turned in a 13-7 record with a nationally ranked victory.
On the women’s side, GSU sophomore Abigail Tere-Apisah earned recognition as both an All-Conference First-Team Singles and Doubles player. In singles, the Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea product led the conference with a No. 41 national singles ranking and an 11-5 record at the No. 1 position. She defeated seven nationally ranked players and nine regionally ranked opponents.
In doubles, Tere-Apisah and classmate Masa Grgan registered an SBC-best No. 33 ranking. The duo took down three nationally ranked teams on their way to a 12-3 record at the No. 1 spot. Tere-Apisah and Grgan also enter the SBC Championships on a seven-match winning streak.
Troy represented the All-Conference First-Team with Karoline Grymel for singles and Anja Cosovic and Candela Munoz Giron for doubles.
Grymel, a senior from Hamburg, Germany, earned All-Conference honors for the second consecutive year after posting a 13-9 mark at No. 1 singles with a win over a nationally ranked opponent. Freshman Cosovic and sophomore Munoz Giron finished 12-1 in doubles, including a 3-1 record against SBC opponents.
Sophomore Kseniya Bardabush represented top-seeded North Texas on the All-Conference First Team for the second consecutive year, while senior Barbora Vykydalova earned Second Team honors in singles.
Bardabush also earned All-Conference Second Team honors in doubles as she paired with fellow sophomore Fraziska Sprinkmeyer. The duo defeated top teams from Arizona, Minnesota and TCU.
FIU freshman Carlotta Orlando earned her spot on the All-Conference First Team after compiling a 10-5 record on the season, including an 8-4 mark at No. 1 singles. Orlando came up with big wins against Lynda Xepoleas of No. 20 Purdue and Hanna Yu from No. 24 Yale. She also defeated First Team selection Bardabush in a third-set tiebreaker.
The 2013 Sun Belt Conference Men’s and Women’s Championships are set for Thursday, April 18 through Sunday, April 21 on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
To follow the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships, visit the Championship Central page. Live stats will be available for all matches, and live video will be available for matches played on Cajun Courts.
MEN
SBC All-Conference First-Team Singles
Victor Valente, Georgia State
Rick de Groot, Louisiana-Lafayette
Ben Davis, Middle Tennessee
Daniel Leitner, South Alabama
SBC All-Conference First-Team Doubles
Lucas Santa Ana/Victor Valente, Georgia State
Victor Cornea/Ben Davis, Middle Tennessee
SBC All-Conference Second-Team Singles
Robert Schulze, Georgia State
Christoph Lang, Middle Tennessee
Ettore Zito, Middle Tennessee
Alex Bernard, South Alabama
SBC All-Conference Second-Team Doubles
Rick de Groot/Jake Wynan, Louisiana-Lafayette
David Fox/Christoph Lang, Middle Tennessee
WOMEN
SBC All-Conference First-Team Singles
Carlotta Orlando, FIU
Abigail Tere-Apisah, Georgia State
Kseniya Bardabush, North Texas
Karoline Grymel, Troy
SBC All-Conference First-Team Doubles
Masa Grgan/Abigail Tere-Apisah, Georgia State
Anja Cosovic/Candela Munoz Giron, Troy
SBC All-Conference Second-Team Singles
Veronique Luksich, UALR
Tamara Slijepcevic, Arkansas State
Barbora Vykydalova, North Texas
Emily Newton, South Alabama
SBC All-Conference Second-Team Doubles
Kseniya Bardabush/Fraziska Sprinkmeyer, North Texas
Michaela Meszarosova/Emily Newton, South Alabama