QUEEN CREEK, AZ – Chaminade University senior Audra Takara (Mililani, HI/Mililani) gave the Silverswords their inaugural All-PacWest selection after she claimed Second Team honors the conference announced recently.
Takara finished the year with a 7-7 dual-meet singles record playing at the top spot in 13 of Chaminade's 16 matches. She was 6-7 at first singles to rank fourth in the league in winning percentage (.462).
BYU-Hawaii sophomore Elwen Li (Chengdu, China) has been selected the Pacific West Conference Player of the Year, while rookie Yuan Ji (Zhengzhou, China) has claimed the PacWest Freshman of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards for 2009.
The honors were announced by the PacWest Media Relations Office in Queen Creek, AZ, on Saturday, June 13, and were part of the 2009 All-PacWest Women's Tennis Team.
PacWest Champion BYU-Hawaii led the league with four First Team Singles selections and a pair of First Team Doubles choices.
BYU-Hawaii head coach Dave Porter was named the 2009 PacWest Women's Tennis Coach of the Year for leading his club to another conference championship and into the national tournament. The Seasiders were 27-1 on the season, winning 27 consecutive matches before falling in the post-season.
Unlike previous years where coach of the year honors in all PacWest sports were presented to the head coach of the league champion, this year the honor was voted upon by the head coaches.
In addition to earning the Player of the Year award, Li was named All-PacWest First Team for the second straight time after posting an 18-0 dual-match record. She led the conference at first singles with a 12-0 mark.
Jia also claimed First Team accolades in her rookie campaign, posting a 24-0 overall singles record to rank second in the league. She led the conference in winning percentage at second singles with a 13-0 mark, while her 11-0 record at first singles ranked second only to Li.
Li and Jia teamed up to easily record the top doubles record in the conference at 22-0, claiming All-PacWest First Team accolades. For Li, it was her second straight First Team Doubles selection. The duo posted all 22 of its wins at first doubles.
Sophomore Jenny Chin (Seoul, South Korea) made the leap from Second Team in 2008 to First Team in 2009 in both the singles and doubles competitions. She recorded a 21-1 (.955) overall singles record to rank fourth in the PacWest in winning percentage, while her 13-1 (.933) record at third singles topped the league.
She teamed up with junior Wen-Lin Wang (Taiwan) to post a 23-1 (.958) singles record, earning a 20-1 (.952) mark at second doubles. The twosome led the league in winning percentage at second doubles and ranked second overall in the conference in doubles play.
Wang was named All-PacWest First Team for a stellar season that saw her lead the conference with a 27-0 singles mark. She was 18-0 at fourth singles where she also topped the league.
Hawai'i Pacific University landed a pair of All-PacWest First Team selections in freshman Zora Vlckova (Brno, Czech Republic) and sophomore Nina Mihova (Plovdiv, Bulgaria/Plovdiv).
Vlckova registered a 14-4 (.778) overall singles mark to rank eighth in the conference in winning percentage and tied for eighth in total victories. She posted a 13-4 first singles record to finish third in winning percentage (.765) and led the conference in first singles wins.
Vlckova partnered with junior Ingrid Cseh (Bucharest, Romania/Constantine Brancoveanu) to earn All-PacWest First Team Doubles. The duo posted a 13-7 overall and first doubles record (.650) to rank sixth in overall winning percentage and second at the top doubles spot.
For Cseh it was a repeat and an upgrade after she was named All-PacWest Second Team Doubles in 2008.
Hawai'i Hilo was led by sophomore Eve Castaing (Dax, France/Borda) and junior Christie Pagatpatan (Waipahu, HI/Waipahu) who repeated as All-PacWest selections.
The Vulcan doubles tandem earned Second Team honors this year after claiming First Team honors in 2008. The twosome posted a 14-9 (.609) dual-match record to seventh in the league in winning percentage and fourth in total victories.
All 23 of their matches were contested at First Doubles as Pagatpatan and Castaing finished third in winning percentage and second in victories at the toughest draw.
Individually, each player was named Second Team thanks to a pair of stellar seasons. Castaing earned All-PacWest First Team accolades last year, but this season she faced a much tougher task both in the conference and around the region.
With just a 9-13 first singles record, Castaing still was considered one of the top players in the region.
Pagatpatan repeated as a Second Team choice after posting a 13-12 record in 2009. She was 11-12 at second singles to stand fourth in the conference in winning percentage, and she was second in victories at second singles. She tied for 10th in the league in overall wins.
