DiSesa, White Take Top C-USA Honors
4/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 28, 2006
HOUSTON -- Senior Blair DiSesa was named the Conference USA player of the year and Rice head coach Roger White received coach of the year honors as five Owls earned year-end honors, the league announced Friday.
DiSesa also received all-conference first-team honors after leading the Owls to four-straight wins, including upsets of SMU, Marshall and Houston, to secure the 2006 C-USA Women's Tennis Championship crown on April 23 in Garland for Rice's first league title. The only ranked singles player in the league, she is 15-9 this spring at the top of the Owls' lineup and ranks fifth all-time at Rice in singles wins with 92.
Freshman Alanna Rodgers was honored for her efforts at the tournament, garnering the outstanding singles player of the championship award. She recorded a 3-0 record at the five-singles position, clinching two of the Owls' three upset wins. With the scored tied 3-3 in the quarterfinals, Rodgers scored a straight-set win to beat the then-55th ranked, and second seeded, Thundering Herd. She posted another straight-set win against the then-51st ranked and top-seeded Mustangs to secure Rice's first conference crown.
Joining DiSesa in receiving all-conference recognition are senior Medeja Egic and sophomores Christine Dao and Tiffany Lee. Dao, who recorded an overall record of 23-19 and was 12-12 in duals at two singles, and Egic, who went 16-7 in dual singles including 7-2 after getting moved up to four, both earned spots on the all-conference second team. Lee was selected to the third team after posting a 13-10 record in the spring , including a 5-3 mark after moving up to three and winning five-straight to end the year.
White, who was the Western Athletic Conference coach of the year in 2005, led his team through a demanding 2006 schedule that included 10 regular-season matches against ranked foes on the road. After ending the regular season at 9-12 and receiving the seven seed at the C-USA tournament, his Owls stepped up and responded to the challenge with a 4-0 sweep of Southern Miss, a 4-3 upset of second-seeded Marshall, a 4-1 win against third-seeded Houston and a 4-1 triumph against top-seeded SMU for the title.
Rice and SMU led all C-USA teams with four all-league selections each. All of the awards are voted on by the C-USA coaches. With their league title, the Owls earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA team championship and find out on May 3 where they will be sent for the first and second rounds. The brackets will be announced on ESPNews beginning at 7:30 pm with the men's selections.
First Team All-Conference
Brianna Bateup, Houston
Kellie Schmitt, Marshall
Lynzee Kever, Marshall
Blair DiSesa, Rice
Svetlana Kouzmenko, SMU
Santie Delport, Tulsa
Second Team All-Conference
Kami Miller, Houston
Christine Dao, Rice
Medeja Egic, Rice
Georgiana Marta, SMU
Pamela Fernandez, UCF
Teri Wilkerson, UTEP
Third Team All-Conference
Mireia Gol, ECU
Gillie Bailey, ECU
Tiffany Lee, Rice
Halley Rambally, SMU
Kristen Reid, SMU
Danielle Muscolino, Tulsa
Coach of the Year: Roger White, Rice
Player of the Year: Blair DiSesa, Rice
Freshman of the Year: Kellie Schmitt, Marshall
Outstanding Singles Player of the Championship
Alanna Rodgers, Rice
Outstanding Doubles Team of the Championship
Kellie Schmitt & Lynzee Kever, Marshall
Players Mentioned
