DePaul University Athletics
Women's Tennis: Five Honored By BIG EAST Conference
5/8/2014 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S TENNIS
May 8, 2014
NEW YORK - The BIG EAST Conference honored five members of the DePaul women's tennis team on Thursday morning in New York.
Junior Patricia Fargas was named the BIG EAST Player of the Year while head coach Mark Ardizzone was named the conference's Coach of the Year. In addition, senior Kelsey Lawson, junior Jasmin Kling and sophomore Ana Vladutu were named to the All-BIG EAST list.
"I am really excited to have four girls on the All-BIG EAST team," Ardizzone said. "Zaina [Sufi] and Rebeca [Mitrea] deserved the honor as well but didn't quite make it. I am really proud of all six girls and the four who were chosen."
Fargas captured the conference's Player of the Year award just 11 days after being named the BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Fargas ran through the BIG EAST Tournament with a perfect 6-0 mark, finishing 3-0 in both singles and doubles play. In 2014, Fargas went 16-7 in dual singles matches, 10-5 at No. 1 singles and 6-2 in the No. 2 slot. Including the fall season, she went 26-13 overall.
In doubles competition, Fargas went 17-3, going 15-3 with Vladutu in No. 1 and No. 2 doubles and 2-0 with Mitrea in the No. 2 position.
"Patricia really deserves the award," Ardizzone said. "She is a fierce competitor who really makes us tick as a team. She didn't lose a match against any BIG EAST opponent this year and that's quite an achievement. Winning the Most Outstanding Player in the tournament and then the Player of the Year is quite a way to double-up."
Meanwhile, for Ardizzone, this is the second time he is taking home the BIG EAST Coach of the Year award; he also picked up the honor after the 2009 season. His 2014 Blue Demons went 19-3 during the regular season, 3-0 in the BIG EAST Tournament and were awarded the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
"I am honored to be chosen as the Coach of the Year," Ardizzone said. "This award, though, is a group effort. Our players make these kinds of awards happen. We also wouldn't have had the success we did without Assistant Coach Kata [Szekely]. She did a great job with our doubles and really helped the team with her leadership and experience."
DePaul will meet Notre Dame on Friday afternoon in Evanston, Ill.
For Kling, this is her second BIG EAST award during her tenure at DePaul. She was named the conference's Freshman of the Year in 2012. This year, Kling went 21-15 overall in singles play and 16-6 dual matches. She went unbeaten at the No. 2 (3-0) and No. 4 (4-0) singles positions while going 9-6 in the No. 3 slot. In doubles, Kling posted a 15-5 dual mark with Lawson, primarily playing in the No. 2 position (13-4). The duo went 2-1 at No. 1 doubles.
Vladutu split her 2014 singles season between the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. She registered a 4-1 mark at No. 1 singles and 10-4 record at No. 2 singles (14-5 total in dual play). She played all 18 of her doubles matches with Fargas, finishing the dual season at 15-3. Vladutu was selected to participate in the National Singles Tournament, which will begin in mid-May.
Finally, Lawson, who has won the second-most singles matches (103) in DePaul women's tennis history, was named All-BIG EAST after finishing the regular season and BIG EAST Tournament with a 27-9 overall singles mark and 19-2 record in dual matches. She went 7-1 at No. 3 singles and 12-1 in the No. 4 position. In doubles, Lawson went 15-5 in dual play, all with Kling.
DePaul's Friday match with Notre Dame is scheduled for 12 p.m. The winner of the match will take on the winner of the contest between Northwestern and Miami (Ohio) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
2014 BIG EAST Conference Postseason Awards
Player of the Year - Patricia Fargas, DePaul, Jr.
Freshman of the Year - Sydney Liggins, Xavier, Fr.
Coach of the Year - Mark Ardizzone, DePaul
All-BIG EAST Team
Kelsey Lawson, DePaul, Sr.
Patricia Fargas, DePaul, Jr. ^
Jasmin Kling, DePaul, Jr.
Ana Vladutu, DePaul, So. ^
Victoire Saperstein, Georgetown, Fr.
Ana Pimienta, Marquette, Jr. ^
Erin Gebes, Marquette, So.
Anastasia Polyakova, St. John's, Jr.
Chloe Sher, Seton Hall, Sr. ^
Hannah Liljekvist, Seton Hall, So.
Alexandra Brinker, Xavier, So.
Sydney Liggins, Xavier, Fr. ^
^ - unanimous selection
Players Mentioned
