Julie Ball, Victoria Sanchez and Savannah Williams Earn First-Team All-SSC Honors
MELBOURNE, Fla. - Nineteen student-athletes have been named to the 2024 All-Sunshine State Conference women's tennis teams, including Julie Ball, Victoria Sánchez and Savannah Williams from the University of Tampa. Voting for the All-SSC teams was conducted among the league's women's tennis coaches.
Women's Tennis All-SSC History: All-SSC Teams | Athletes & Coaches of the Year
Ball has been a standout for the Spartans at both the number one singles and doubles spots, currently carrying a singles record of 14-3 in 2024. She is also 13-6 at the top doubles spot. She is riding a six-match winning streak in singles and has been nationally ranked for four consecutive weeks.
Sanchez earns a spot on the first-team doubles with a 13-6 record while playing with Ball. The duo is currently ranked in the national top-20 and has won six of their last eight matches.
Williams is a second-team singles honoree. She has dominated competition this season, going 16-3 in singles with a 12-6 doubles mark.
Salma Djoubri of Lynn repeats as Athlete of the Year. The Sophomore from Caudebec Les Elbeuf, France, finished the spring season with a 17-1 overall singles record, including 9-0 in SSC play, all in the #1 position. Djoubri also tallied a 15-5 overall doubles record, including a 10-4 mark at the #2 position. She is the fifth player in conference history to be named Athlete of the Year twiceA. She remains the seventh Fighting Knight named Athlete of the YearB and is the second to win the award twice. The Sunshine State Conference Athlete of the Year award is presented by College Ave Student Loans.
Laura Cuesta Bret from Embry-Riddle is named Freshman of the Year. The product of Madrid, Spain, posted a 14-7 spring record for the Eagles, primarily at #3 singles, and was 6-3 in league play. Cuesta Bret won 13 of 20 doubles matches, including nine wins at #1 doubles. She is the first Embry-Riddle women's tennis athlete to earn Freshman of the Year.
Doug Neagle of Nova Southeastern has been voted Coach of the Year by his peers for the fourth time. Under his command, the Sharks posted a 21-4 overall record, finished second in the SSC regular season, and reached No. 1 in the ITA ranking. Neagle remains the only NSU coach to win the award in women's tennis.
NSU's Natalie Espinal leads a list of repeat All-SSC winners from 2023. The graduate student from Tegucigalpa, Honduras becomes the first in women's tennis to earn five First Team Singles awards in a career. Additionally, she is the fourth to earn four First Team Doubles honorsc. Nine award winners repeat this year as All-SSC from 2023, including two former Athletes of the Year in Espinal and Djoubri.
Athlete of the Year: Salma Djoubri, Lynn
Freshman of the Year: Laura Cuestra Bret, Embry-Riddle
Coach of the Year: Doug Neagle, Nova Southeastern
|
2024 All-SSC Women's First Team Singles |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
|
Salma Djoubri1 |
Lynn |
So. |
Caudebec Les Elbeuf, France |
|
Natalie Espinal2 |
Nova Southeastern |
Gr. |
Tegucigalpa, Honduras |
|
Laia Pasini |
Florida Southern |
Sr. |
Forster, Australia |
|
Itxaso Blanco3 |
Embry-Riddle |
Gr. |
Bilbao, Spain |
|
Tampa |
Gr. |
Barcelona, Spain |
|
|
Alina Michalitsch |
Barry |
So. |
Neustadt, Austria |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2024 All-SSC Women's First Team Doubles |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
|
Natalie Espinal2 / Freya Davies |
Nova Southeastern |
Gr. / Gr. |
Tegucigalpa, Honduras / Winchester, England |
|
Dinara Alloiarova4 / Viktoriia Dema |
Barry |
Jr. / So. |
Engles, Russia / Kyiv, Ukraine |
|
Julie Ball / Victoria Sanchez5 |
Tampa |
Gr. / Sr. |
Barcelona, Spain / Barcelona, Spain |
|
2024 All-SSC Women's Second Team Singles |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
|
Viktoriia Dema |
Barry |
So. |
Kyiv, Ukraine |
|
Greta Schieroni6 |
Lynn |
Jr. |
Turin, Italy |
|
Lian Benedejcic |
Nova Southeastern |
Gr. |
Ankaran, Slovenia |
|
Luzia Obermeier7 |
Saint Leo |
Jr. |
Bavaria, Germany |
|
Clara Versier |
Barry |
Sr. |
Nice, France |
|
Tampa |
Gr. |
Fredericksburg, Virginia |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2024 All-SSC Women's Second Team Doubles |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
|
Luzia Obermeier7 / Lavinia Lancellotti8 |
Saint Leo |
Jr. / Sr. |
Bavaria, Germany / Rome, Italy |
|
Itxaso Blanco3 / Laura Cuesta Bret |
Embry-Riddle |
Gr. / Fr. |
Bilbao, Spain / Madrid, Spain |
|
Jade Marie / Deniza Marcinkevica |
Lynn |
So. / Gr. |
Esbly, France / Riga, Latvia |
1 Djoubri (LU) - 2023 Athlete of the Year, 2023 Freshman of the Year, 2023 First Team Singles
2 Espinal (NS) - 2023 First Team Singles, 2023 First Team Doubles, 2022 First Team Singles, 2022 First Team Doubles, 2021 First Team Singles, 2021 First Team Doubles, 2021 Athlete of the Year, 2019 First Team Singles, 2019 Second Team Doubles, 2019 Freshman of the Year
3 Blanco (ER) - 2023 Second Team Singles, 2022 First Team Singles
4 Alloiarova (BU) -2023 Second Team Singles, 2023 Second Team Doubles
5 Sanchez (UT) - 2023 Second Team Doubles
6 Schieroni (LU) - 2023 Second Team Singles
7 Obermeier (SL) - 2023 Second Team Singles
8 Lancellotti (SL) - 2023 First Team Doubles, 2022 Second Team Doubles, 2022 Honorable Mention Singles, 2021 Second Team Doubles
A 2x Athlete of the Year Winners: Anzela Zguna, Rollins (2000-01); Senka Softic, Florida Southern (2008-09); Barbi Pocza, Barry (2010-11); Valentine Confalonieri, Lynn (2014-15)
B Lynn's Athlete of the Year winners: Julia Jehs (1999), Monika Mastalirova (2003), Victoria Weltz (2006), Ioana Ivan (2012), Valentine Confalonieri (2014-15), Klaudia Boczova (2018), Leolia Jeanjean (2019), and Salma Djoubri (2023-24)
C Four First Team Doubles: Marie Barbier, Lynn (2001-04); Ioana Ivan, Lynn (2011-14); Emma Onila, Barry (2013-16)