Women’s Tennis: Kelly Drew Named First-Team All-SBC In Singles

David Collins, Athletics Communications Assistant

Drew becomes the first Cajuns woman to gain All-SBC honors in singles since 2001.

NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference announced their All-SBC teams today and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns women’s tennis team senior Kelly Drew became the first woman from Louisiana to gain SBC postseason honors in singles since 2001 when she was named to the 2018 All-SBC First Team in singles.

IT’S BEEN ALMOST 20 YEARS: Drew becomes only the second Cajuns woman to gain All-SBC honors in singles since the turn of the century and she joins Ariana Urantani, who was named to the All-SBC Team in 2001, as the only two Cajuns women to get postseason honors in the past 24 years.

CAPPING A GREAT SENIOR YEAR: Drew went 9-7 in the spring and 5-4 in the fall to finish with a 14-11 record overall.  Playing primarily at No. 1 she had a collection of solid wins throughout the season but the one that stands out was when she took down the No. 90th ranked player in the nation.
           
On Mar. 1, at Cajun Courts, Drew faced off with South Alabama’s Alexandria Stiteler at the No. 1 spot.  Drew battled throughout, and she had to dig in deep in the first set, but she was determined, coming away with a first set tiebreaking win, 7-6(6) and she rode that momentum through to the second set to come away with a straight set win, 7-6(6), 6-4.
           
What made that win impressive was that it was the first loss of the season for Stiteler.  Stiteler would go on to lose only one more match in the season, finishing with a 15-2 record and a national ranking of 111.  For Drew it was a career highlighting win, since it was the first and so far, only win she’s had against a ranked opponent. 

2018 SUN BELT CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS POSTSEASON AWARDS:
All-Sun Belt First Team
Singles
Iryna Vardanian, Coastal Carolina (Jr., Kiev, Ukraine)
Kristin Rehse, Georgia State (Sr., Hofheim, Germany)
Kelly Drew, Louisiana (Sr., Auckland, New Zealand) 
Stefana Andrei, ULM (Sr., Bucharest, Romania)
Yu Fujioka, South Alabama (Fr., Tokyo, Japan)
Alexandria Stitler, South Alabama (Jr., Bradenton, Fla.)
 
Doubles
Heidi Swope (Jr., Weddington, N.C.) and Maria José Zacarias (Fr., San Luis Potosi, Mexico), Appalachian State
Iryna Vardanian (Jr., Kiev, Ukraine) and Natalie Wall (Sr., Liverpool, England), Coastal Carolina
Sara Bondar (Sr., Szeghalom, Hungary) and Somer Dalla-Bona (Fr., Bokarina, Australia), Coastal Carolina
 
All-Sun Belt Second Team
Singles
Teodora Sevo, Appalachian State (Fr., Futog, Serbia)
María José Zacarias, Appalachian State (Fr., San Luis Potosi, Mexico)
Rylie Cox, Coastal Carolina (So., Rockwall, Texas)
Arianne de Winter, Georgia Southern (So., Nieuwerkerk a/d Ijssel, South Holland, Netherlands)
Damira Muminovic, Georgia State (So., Tuzla, Bosnia)
Karolina Snita, ULM (So., Glowgow, Poland)
Agustina Serio, UTA (Sr., Tandil, Argentina)
 
Doubles
Melissa Machado (Sr., Miami, Fla.) and Teodora Sevo (Fr., Futog, Serbia), Appalachian State      
Arianne de Winter (So., Nieuwerkerk a/d Ijssel, South Holland, Netherlands) and Paula Boixader (So., Barcelona, Spain), Georgia Southern
Stefana Andrei (Sr., Bucharest, Romania) and Karolina Snita (So., Glowgow, Poland), ULM
 
Player of the Year
Kristin Rehse, Georgia State (Sr., Hofheim, Germany)
 
Player to Watch
Teodora Sevo, Appalachian State (Fr., Futog, Serbia)
 
Newcomer of the Year
Iryna Vardanian, Coastal Carolina (Jr., Kiev, Ukraine)
 
Freshman of the Year
Yu Fujioka, South Alabama (Fr., Tokyo, Japan)
 
Coach of the Year
Rawia Elsisi, Troy
 
RAGIN’ CAJUNS WOMEN’S TENNIS ALL-TIME SBC CONFERENCE HONORS:
All-Sun Belt (Singles):
Kelly Drew (First Team; 2018)
Ariana Urantani (2001)
Sharni Rothacker (1994)
Krystal Nabors (1994)
Christiane Teuber (1993)
Krystal Nabors (1993)
Tiffany Williams (1992)
Silke Ladehoff (1992)

All-Sun Belt (Doubles):
Melissa Burckhartt/Kelly Drew (Second Team; 2016)
Christiane Teuber/Silke Ladehoff (1993)
Vanessa Campos/Tiffany Williams (1992)

UP NEXT FOR THE CAJUNS: The eighth seeded Ragin’ Cajuns will kick off the SBC Women’s Tennis Championships on Thursday, Apr. 19 with a morning first round match against the ninth seeded Georgia Southern Eagles, starting at 7:00 a.m. CT, in Peachtree City, Ga.

FOLLOWING THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS: Follow the Cajuns on twitter @RaginCajunsWT for updates during the championships and links to live stats, radio broadcasts, TV broadcasts and a recap following each day’s action.