DePaul University Athletics
Stula and Pehlivan Collect All-BIG EAST Honors
4/30/2026 10:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S TENNIS
Sasha Stula earns First Team honors and Yasemin Pehlivan lands on Second Team
CHICAGO – DePaul women's tennis duo Sasha Stula and Yasemin Pehlivan received All-BIG EAST honors, the conference announced Thursday morning. After earning an All-BIG EAST Second Team distinction a season ago, Stula was recognized with unanimous First Team honors in 2026, while Pehlivan earned a spot on the Second Team after her stellar freshman campaign. Stula finished her junior campaign with a 15-4 record, while Pehlivan tallied a 13-9 mark in dual matches.
Abby Nugent, the mainstay on No. 1 court for conference regular season and tournament champion Xavier Musketeers, took home BIG EAST Player of the Year after a unanimous vote. Seton Hall's Kira Farrakhova won BIG EAST Freshman of the Year after leading the Pirates with a 4-2 conference record on their No. 1 court. Xavier was awarded BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.
Stula led the Blue Demons to a 6-1 record in league play, going 6-1 in her singles matches, all at No. 1. The junior from Gifu, Japan put together one of the best seasons in recent program history, recording the most dual singles wins since 2016, the most overall singles wins since 2015, and the most wins at No. 1 since 2013. She also went undefeated against ranked opponents, beating No. 43 ranked Margot Phanthala of Northwestern in February and No. 63 ranked Bianca Molnar out of Notre Dame in April. Stula finished the year with five BIG EAST Women's Singles Player of the Week awards, the most of any player in a single BIG EAST campaign since realignment in 2013.
Pehlivan, the freshman from Turkey, provided an immediate spark for DePaul, starting off the year 6-2 on No. 4 court. Following this impressive run, head coach Marisa Arce elevated Pehlivan to court No. 3 spot in the lineup, believing she was ready for the challenge. Pehlivan continued her success, going again 6-2 over her next eight bouts. She finished the BIG EAST regular season with a record of 5-2. Continuing her dominance into postseason play, Pehlivan went 2-0 in the DePaul's quarterfinal and semifinal' victories, including the penultimate result in its dramatic 4-3 comeback against St. John's to punch its ticket to the Championship match. Pehlivan held a 6-2, 5-4 lead in the final against Xavier before the Musketeers clinched the victory.
In Arce's seven seasons at DePaul, eight different Blue Demons have accounted for 12 All-BIG EAST selections.
2026 BIG EAST Women's Tennis Major Awards
BIG EAST Player of the Year: Abby Nugent, Xavier*
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year: Kira Farrakhova, Seton Hall
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year: Xavier
All-BIG EAST First Team
Abby Nugent, Xavier*
Sasha Stula, DePaul*
Kira Farrakhova, Seton Hall*
Victoria Papadopoulou, St. John's
Maddie Rexroat, Xavier*
Ela Platenikova, UConn
*denotes unanimous selection
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Julia Chu, Georgetown*
Chloe Lomans, UConn
Olivia Corcoran, Villanova
Noemi Babikova, St. John's
Sophie Schwartz, Creighton
Yasemin Pehlivan, DePaul
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.
Abby Nugent, the mainstay on No. 1 court for conference regular season and tournament champion Xavier Musketeers, took home BIG EAST Player of the Year after a unanimous vote. Seton Hall's Kira Farrakhova won BIG EAST Freshman of the Year after leading the Pirates with a 4-2 conference record on their No. 1 court. Xavier was awarded BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.
Stula led the Blue Demons to a 6-1 record in league play, going 6-1 in her singles matches, all at No. 1. The junior from Gifu, Japan put together one of the best seasons in recent program history, recording the most dual singles wins since 2016, the most overall singles wins since 2015, and the most wins at No. 1 since 2013. She also went undefeated against ranked opponents, beating No. 43 ranked Margot Phanthala of Northwestern in February and No. 63 ranked Bianca Molnar out of Notre Dame in April. Stula finished the year with five BIG EAST Women's Singles Player of the Week awards, the most of any player in a single BIG EAST campaign since realignment in 2013.
Pehlivan, the freshman from Turkey, provided an immediate spark for DePaul, starting off the year 6-2 on No. 4 court. Following this impressive run, head coach Marisa Arce elevated Pehlivan to court No. 3 spot in the lineup, believing she was ready for the challenge. Pehlivan continued her success, going again 6-2 over her next eight bouts. She finished the BIG EAST regular season with a record of 5-2. Continuing her dominance into postseason play, Pehlivan went 2-0 in the DePaul's quarterfinal and semifinal' victories, including the penultimate result in its dramatic 4-3 comeback against St. John's to punch its ticket to the Championship match. Pehlivan held a 6-2, 5-4 lead in the final against Xavier before the Musketeers clinched the victory.
In Arce's seven seasons at DePaul, eight different Blue Demons have accounted for 12 All-BIG EAST selections.
2026 BIG EAST Women's Tennis Major Awards
BIG EAST Player of the Year: Abby Nugent, Xavier*
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year: Kira Farrakhova, Seton Hall
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year: Xavier
All-BIG EAST First Team
Abby Nugent, Xavier*
Sasha Stula, DePaul*
Kira Farrakhova, Seton Hall*
Victoria Papadopoulou, St. John's
Maddie Rexroat, Xavier*
Ela Platenikova, UConn
*denotes unanimous selection
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Julia Chu, Georgetown*
Chloe Lomans, UConn
Olivia Corcoran, Villanova
Noemi Babikova, St. John's
Sophie Schwartz, Creighton
Yasemin Pehlivan, DePaul
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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