Hannah Smith and Sasha Stula Bring Home All-BIG EAST Awards
5/1/2025 2:07:00 PM | WOMEN'S TENNIS
Smith earns second First Team appearance of career
CHICAGO – Blue Demon duo Hannah Smith and Sasha Stula received All-BIG EAST tennis honors, the league announced Thursday afternoon. Smith earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team for the second consecutive season, while Stula played her way to a Second Team selection for the first time in her career.
Olivia Wright of UConn unanimously won the BIG EAST Player of the Year award, leading the Huskies to the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Championships. Xavier's Maddie Rexroat was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year recipient. The conference honored UConn as the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year. The 11 BIG EAST head coaches who voted on the awards could not vote for their players.
Smith spent all season at the No. 1 singles slot for the Blue Demons to garner the First Team honor. The junior posted an identical 8-9 dual season record compared to the 2024 campaign. Smith earned the BIG EAST Singles Player of the Week award on Feb. 23 after winning consecutive road matches against Omaha and Creighton.
Smith and Eva Goncharov dominated on court one in doubles throughout the 2025 season, posting a 16-3 mark overall and a 13-3 record in dual play. The pair landed on the ITA national doubles rankings in six of the eight polls during the dual season, reaching as high as No. 49 on Feb. 20. The tandem was selected as the BIG EAST Doubles Team of the Week four times, the most in the conference. The Silchester, England native holds a 57-23 clip in doubles action in three seasons at DePaul.
Stula elevated her play in year two, earning a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team. The sophomore totaled a 19-9 overall record in singles competition, pacing the team in wins. The Gifu, Japan native, began the dual season in the third slot and registered a 3-1 record. Moving up to slot two increased Stula's performance, going 9-4 with a three-match winning streak to end the season. The conference nominated Stula as the BIG EAST Singles Player of the Week on March 3, following a win over Cornell.
On doubles court three, Stula and freshman Eleanor Cochran were a dependable duo. The pair recorded a 15-7 overall mark while going 12-5 during dual competition and 4-2 against conference opponents. Stula and Cochran played their best tennis late in the season, with an 8-2 record over the final 10 matches of the campaign.
DePaul currently holds 10 All-BIG EAST honors from seven different players under Marisa Arce since taking over as head coach in the 2019-20 season.
2025 BIG EAST Women's Tennis Major Awards
BIG EAST Player of the Year: Olivia Wright, UConn
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year: Maddie Rexroat, Xavier
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year: UConn
All-BIG EAST First Team
Chase Metcalf, Butler*
Olivia Wright, UConn*
Bianca Rademacher, Creighton
Hannah Smith, DePaul
Sophia Edwards, Villanova*
Abby Nugent, Xavier*
*denotes unanimous selection
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Sasha Stula, DePaul
Emily Novikov, Georgetown
Victoria Papadopoulou, St. John's
Noemi Babikova, St. John's
Elizabeth Pendergast, Xavier
Maddie Rexroat, Xavier
FOLLOW THE BLUE DEMONS
For all the latest information on DePaul Women's Tennis, visit DePaulBlueDemons.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Blue Demons on Twitter and Instagram.
Olivia Wright of UConn unanimously won the BIG EAST Player of the Year award, leading the Huskies to the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Championships. Xavier's Maddie Rexroat was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year recipient. The conference honored UConn as the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year. The 11 BIG EAST head coaches who voted on the awards could not vote for their players.
Smith spent all season at the No. 1 singles slot for the Blue Demons to garner the First Team honor. The junior posted an identical 8-9 dual season record compared to the 2024 campaign. Smith earned the BIG EAST Singles Player of the Week award on Feb. 23 after winning consecutive road matches against Omaha and Creighton.
Smith and Eva Goncharov dominated on court one in doubles throughout the 2025 season, posting a 16-3 mark overall and a 13-3 record in dual play. The pair landed on the ITA national doubles rankings in six of the eight polls during the dual season, reaching as high as No. 49 on Feb. 20. The tandem was selected as the BIG EAST Doubles Team of the Week four times, the most in the conference. The Silchester, England native holds a 57-23 clip in doubles action in three seasons at DePaul.
Stula elevated her play in year two, earning a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team. The sophomore totaled a 19-9 overall record in singles competition, pacing the team in wins. The Gifu, Japan native, began the dual season in the third slot and registered a 3-1 record. Moving up to slot two increased Stula's performance, going 9-4 with a three-match winning streak to end the season. The conference nominated Stula as the BIG EAST Singles Player of the Week on March 3, following a win over Cornell.
On doubles court three, Stula and freshman Eleanor Cochran were a dependable duo. The pair recorded a 15-7 overall mark while going 12-5 during dual competition and 4-2 against conference opponents. Stula and Cochran played their best tennis late in the season, with an 8-2 record over the final 10 matches of the campaign.
DePaul currently holds 10 All-BIG EAST honors from seven different players under Marisa Arce since taking over as head coach in the 2019-20 season.
2025 BIG EAST Women's Tennis Major Awards
BIG EAST Player of the Year: Olivia Wright, UConn
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year: Maddie Rexroat, Xavier
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year: UConn
All-BIG EAST First Team
Chase Metcalf, Butler*
Olivia Wright, UConn*
Bianca Rademacher, Creighton
Hannah Smith, DePaul
Sophia Edwards, Villanova*
Abby Nugent, Xavier*
*denotes unanimous selection
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Sasha Stula, DePaul
Emily Novikov, Georgetown
Victoria Papadopoulou, St. John's
Noemi Babikova, St. John's
Elizabeth Pendergast, Xavier
Maddie Rexroat, Xavier
FOLLOW THE BLUE DEMONS
For all the latest information on DePaul Women's Tennis, visit DePaulBlueDemons.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Blue Demons on Twitter and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
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