DePaul University Athletics
ITA Honors Three From DePaul Women's Tennis
5/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S TENNIS
ITA Award Winners
SKILLMAN, N.J. -- Following their most successful postseason trip in school history, three members of the DePaul women's tennis team were honored by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) on Tuesday morning.
Patricia Fargas, Rebeca Mitrea and assistant coach Kata Szekely each earned awards for the Midwest Region.
Fargas was named the ITA Most Impoved Player (Senior) of the Year for the Midwest. A native of Barcelona, Spain, Fargas earned All-BIG EAST honors in 2015 after posting a 24-7 mark in singles play and 15-3 record in dual singles matches. Fargas was the 2014 BIG EAST Player of the Year and Tournament Most Outstanding Player and played primarily at No. 3 and 4 singles as a senior.Â
Mitrea picked up the ITA Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship after her tremendous 2015 season. The award is given to a NCAA Division I women's player who displays inspiring dedication and commitment to her team, which enhances her team's performance and exemplifies the spirit of college tennis. It dates back to 1997 and is in memory of the late and widely admired University of Pennsylvania women's tennis coach Cissie Leary. Mitrea went an impressive 40-5 in singles play this year, setting the school record for most wins in a single season. She won two matches in the NCAA Tournament in the No. 6 position, beating Stephanie Fox (Kentucky) and Sara Remynse (Michigan).
Finally, Szekely was named the ITA Midwest Assistant Coach of the Year. Szekely is in her second year at DePaul under head coach Mark Ardizzone following a stand out playing career at the University of Tennessee.
The DePaul women's tennis team went 22-5 overall in 2015 and won its second consecutive BIG EAST Tournament Championship, which propelled the squad into the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year. The team then beat the No. 25 University of Kentucky, 4-1, for its first ever NCAA Tournament win before falling to No. 11 Michigan, 4-2, in the second round.
