BATON ROUGE, La. – Junior Skylar Kuykendall was named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Newcomer of the Year in a vote by the university sports information directors.
Kuykendall became the first LSU player since 2009 and only the 14th in school history to reach the 30-win mark in a season. The Jasper, Alabama native led the nation in wins a majority of the season and even held an 11-match win streak through part of SEC play.
Kuyekndall was also named to the first team along with sophomore Joana Vale Costa. Junior Abby Owens was also named to the second team All-Louisiana.
Vale Costa was an All-SEC first team selection and qualified for NCAA Singles Championships. Vale Costa became the sixth player in school history to reach the championships. The Lisbon, Portugal native also earned 30 wins during the 2014-15 season and became the 15th player in school history to reach the mark.
Owen’s spot on the second team was well deserved after moving up to court three midway through SEC play. Owens earned a win in LSU’s first round win in the NCAA Championships over New Mexico.
Owens also defeated No. 47 Saska Gavriloska of Texas A&M in three sets in the SEC Tournament. Her win over Gavrilovska provided to be huge in LSU’s 4-3 win over the Aggies, which sent the Lady Tigers to the third semifinal in school history
The Lady Tigers completed one of the most impressive seasons in school history. Third-year head coach Julia Sell led LSU to a 20-11 win mark and this team became the third in school history to reach the 20-win mark.
Sell also led LSU to the semifinal of the SEC Tournament for the third time in school history and the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in school history.
For more information on the program, follow the Lady Tigers on Twitter @lsuwten and @LSUJuliaSell, on Instagram @LSUWTen and onwww.Facebook.com/lsuwten.
FIRST TEAM
Stephanie Barnett, Nicholls State
Joana Vale Costa, LSU
Natalya Krutova, Northwestern State
Renee Villarreal, Southeastern Louisiana
Nour Abbes, Xavier
Skylar Kuykendall, LSU
SECOND TEAM
Julia Kral, McNeese State
Klaudia Gawlik, McNeese State
Petra Horakova, ULM
Tatiana Larina, Northwestern State
Alexandra Starkova, Louisiana Tech
Abby Owens, LSU
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Stephanie Barnett, Nicholls State
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Skylar Kuykendall, LSU
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Sarah Jurakova, McNeese State
COACH OF THE YEAR
Meenakshi Sundaram, Nicholls State