April 16, 2008
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Four members of the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team were honored with All-SEC selections, as voted on by the league coaches and announced by the SEC office on Wednesday morning. Seniors Taka Bertrand and Amanda Taylor were named first-team All-SEC, while sophomore Catherine Newman was named to the second team. Freshman Keilly Ulery earned All-Freshmen team honors.
“I’m thrilled for all four players,” Vanderbilt women’s tennis head coach Geoff Macdonald said. “For those two seniors to be named All-SEC for all four years is an incredible accomplishment. It speaks to how consistently incredible they were in their careers. All four girls are very deserving of the honor.”
The honor is the fourth for Bertrand in her well-decorated career. After earning SEC Player of the Year honors her sophomore year and second team All-SEC accolades last season, Bertrand was named All-SEC first team this season. Her 18-3 dual match record is the best on the team and her 9-2 record in SEC matches is tied for the best on the team. The Great Falls, Va., native ran off eight consecutive conference victories during the season, including a victory over Auburn’s Melissa Koning, which made her the all-time singles wins leader in Vanderbilt history.
Taylor was a unanimous selection for the All-SEC first team. The All-SEC honor is the fourth of her career, including being named to the first team each of the last three seasons. Taylor, currently ranked 23rd nationally in singles, defeated four ranked players in conference matches, including a win over No. 18 Megan Falcon of LSU. She finished the conference season with an 8-3 record in singles and had a team-best 7-3 record in conference doubles matches, partnering with junior Courtney Ulery.
Newman was named All-SEC second team after being named to the first team during her freshman season. Newman clinched the first conference win of the season for the Commodores with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Mykala Hedberg of LSU. Currently ranked No. 46 in singles, Newman finished the conference season with a 6-5 record in singles play and a 6-4 mark in doubles competition.
Keilly Ulery was named a member of the SEC All-Freshmen team. Ulery’s 9-2 singles record in conference matches ties her for the best mark on the team. Ulery finished the conference season with five straight victories. She was named SEC Freshman of the Week on April 15 after coming back to defeat Kentucky’s Whitney Spencer.
Arkansas head coach Michael Hegarty was voted SEC Coach of the Year by his peers, while Auburn’s Fani Chifchieva was named SEC Player of the Year. Florida’s Julia Cohen earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors, while Aurelija Miseviciute of Arkansas was named SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Vanderbilt returns to action on Friday at the SEC Women’s Tennis Tournament in Auburn, Ala. The Commodores will face either No. 5 seed Tennessee or 12th-seeded Mississippi State at 2 p.m. on Friday.
Southeastern Conference Postseason Awards
Coach of the Year: Michael Hegarty, Arkansas
Player of the Year: Fani Chifchieva, Auburn
Freshman of the Year: Julia Cohen, Florida
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Aurelija Miseviciute, Arkansas
All-SEC First Team:
Aurelija Miseviciute, Arkansas*
Ela Kaluder, Arkansas*
Fani Chifchieva, Auburn*
Alex Haney, Auburn
Whitney Benik, Florida
Julia Cohen, Florida
Csilla Borsanyi, Florida
Monica Dancevic, Georgia
Yvette Hyndman, Georgia*
Megan Falcon, LSU*
Taka Bertrand, Vanderbilt
Amanda Taylor, Vanderbilt*
All-SEC Second Team:
Anastasia Revzina, Florida
Megan Alexander, Florida
Naoka Ueshima, Georgia
Cameron Ellis, Georgia
Megan Broderick, Kentucky
Christine Johnston, Kentucky
Hannah Robinson, LSU
Karen Nijssen, Ole Miss
Gira Schofield, South Carolina
Ana Maria Zubori, South Carolina
Natasa Vuckovic, South Carolina
Caitlin Whoriskey, Tennessee
Catherine Newman, Vanderbilt
All-SEC Freshman Team:
Tiffany Welcher, Alabama
Julia Cohen, Florida
Cameron Ellis, Georgia
Megan Broderick, Kentucky
Karen Nijssen, Ole Miss
Keilly Ulery, Vanderbilt
*Unanimous Selection