MONROE, La. — Louisiana-Lafayette junior Amanjot Singh and Southeastern Louisiana freshman Iva Velkovska were named the Louisiana Men’s and Women’s College Tennis Players of the Year today by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
Velkovska also was named the Louisiana Women’s Freshman of the Year. Southeastern Louisiana’s Vladimir Paunic was named the Louisiana Men’s Newcomer of the Year.
Joining Singh and Paunic on the All-Louisiana Men’s Tennis First Team are UL-Lafayette senior Evghenii Corduneanu, LSU juniors Ken Skupski and Danny Bryan, and SLU sophomore Matthieu Leboucher.
Three others from around the state received honorable mention: Robin Ley of UL-Lafayette, Colt Gaston of LSU, and Ilie Babincuic of Southeastern.
Joining Velkovska on the All-Louisiana Women’s Tennis First Team are teammates Emilija Arnaudovska and Nina Knavs, Louisiana Monroe senior Diana Espinal, LSU senior Marina Chiarelli, and McNeese State junior Madeleine Hakansson.
On the women’s second team are Louisiana-Lafayette’s Tammy Day and Laura Martelli, ULM’s Daliny Sithimorada, LSU’s Daysi Espinal, McNeese State’s Noelia Furno, and Southern’s Francisca Osedumme.
Singh started the 2006 season playing anywhere from No. 2 to No. 4 singles, while concentrating on nationally-ranked doubles. During the season he moved to No. 1 singles and thrived, posting a 6-1 record. All six wins at No. 1 came vs. ranked teams, including No. 32 Middle Tennessee in the Sun Belt Conference Championship finals and No. 29 Rice in the NCAA Tournament. He defeated No. 46 Andreas Siljestrom of Middle Tennessee to clinch the Sun Belt Tournament title for the Cajuns, earning Most Outstanding Player honors for the tournament. Singh was also named All-Sun Belt in singles and doubles. He is ranked No. 59 in doubles with partner Dusan Tabak, and No. 104 in singles.
Velkovska set a single-season school record for singles victories, finishing the spring with a Southland Conference-best 23-2 singles record. She won her last 13 singles matches and posted a separate nine-match singles win streak during the 2006 season. She finished 10-0 versus SLC opponents, earning her First Team All-Southland Conference honors. Her 16 doubles victories are tied for second most in school history. Velkovska was also named the Southland Conference’s Freshman of the Year.
Student-athletes are not the only ones receiving recognition. On the men’s side, UL Lafayette head coach Justin McGrath was named the Louisiana Coach of the Year, while SLU head coach Jason Hayes was named the Women’s Coach of the Year.
McGrath led the Cajuns to a 16-7 record on their way to the 2006 Sun Belt Tournament Championship, a No. 35 national ranking, and an NCAA Tournament berth. He was named Sun Belt Conference Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year. The Cajuns boasted six wins over ranked teams, including a win at No. 11 Florida State. All seven losses came to ranked teams, including five ranked in the top 30.
Hayes was named Southland Conference Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year after leading the Lady Lions to their second straight NCAA Tournament berth, second straight SLC tournament crown and first-ever SLC regular-season title. He is the second person in Southland history to be named SLC Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year in the same season. He led the Lady Lions to a 22-4 record, perfect 10-0 mark versus Southland Conference opponents and 8-0 mark versus Louisiana opponents. The team was nationally ranked for the majority of the spring, peaking at 56th.
All-Louisiana Men’s Tennis Team
Danny Bryan, LSU
Evghenii Corduneanu, Louisiana-Lafayette
Matthieu Leboucher, Southeastern Louisiana
Vladimir Paunic, Southeastern Louisiana
Amanjot Singh, Louisiana-Lafayette
Ken Skupski, LSU
Honorable Mention: Ilie Babincuic, Southeastern Louisiana; Colt Gaston, LSU; Robin Ley, Louisiana-Lafayette
Player of the Year: Amanjot Singh, Louisiana-Lafayette
Newcomer of the Year: Vladimir Paunic, Southeastern Louisiana
Coach of the Year: Justin McGrath, Louisiana-Lafayette
All-Louisiana Women’s Team
First Team
Emilija Arnaudovska, Southeastern Louisiana
Marina Chiarelli, LSU
Diana Espinal, Louisiana Monroe
Madeleine Hakansson, McNeese State
Nina Knavs, Southeastern Louisiana
Iva Velkovska, Southeastern Louisiana
Second Team
Tammy Day, Louisiana-Lafayette
Daysi Espinal, LSU
Noelia Furno, McNeese State
Laura Martelli, Louisiana-Lafayette
Francisca Osedumme, Southern
Daliny Sithimorada, Louisiana-Monroe
Player of the Year: Iva Velkovska, Southeastern Louisiana
Freshman of the Year: Iva Velkovska, Southeastern Louisiana
Coach of the Year: Jason Hayes, Southeastern Louisiana