MIAMI, Fla. (April 28, 2021) – The 2021 All-Sun Conference Women's Teams and Superlative Award Winners were announced on Wednesday as voted on by the league's seven head coaches.
Keiser's Camilla Abbate was named this year's Sun Conference Player of the Year. Abbate finished the year with a 7-1 record at the No. 1 position for the Seahawks, including a 5-0 mark at the team's top spot. The native of Bolonga, Italy, went 2-1 versus nationally-ranked opponents, helping KU earn a No. 2 ranking in the latest NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll and the top spot in this year's Sun Conference Tournament. A two-time Sun Conference Player of the Week in 2021, Abbate was joined on the All-Conference First-Team by her KU teammates Maissane Aik, Alisha Hussain, and Hannah Larimore.
SCAD Savannah's Yue Yu was named the Sun Conference Freshman of the Year. A Sun Conference Player of the Week (April 12), the first-team selection finished the regular season with a perfect 5-0 record in singles play. The native Dalian, China, saw action at four different spots (No. 1 through 4) and won her only meeting versus a national-ranked opponent.
Lara Teodoro (Ave Maria) and Priya Sukkanha (SCAD Savannah) were also named first-team all-conference.
The Seahawk duo of Aik and Hussain were named the Sun Conference Doubles Team of the Year. The pair owned a 9-2 record at the No. 1 doubles position, posting a 6-0 mark in conference action.
Keiser Head Coach Daniel Finn was named the league's Coach of the Year, leading the Seahawks (currently No. 2 in the latest NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll) to 10-1 overall record and an undefeated 6-0 mark and the top seed in this year's Sun Conference Women's Tennis Championship. This marks Finn's fourth Women's Coach of the Year honor.
Warner's Savannah Hancock was named this year's Sun Conference Champion of Character. Hancock has been working full-time this past semester as a paraprofessional with mostly kindergarten, third, and fifth grade. The native of Lake Wales has volunteered and spent time working with kids in the ESOL (students who English is not their first language) with the focus on improving speaking, reading, or writing. She has also been teaching a co-ed middle school Sunday ministry program at her church and organizing her church's youth program on Wednesday nights since the beginning of Fall 2020. Hancock has been a leader for the Royals in previous years while completing volunteer projects along with the sole representative for the women's team in our student lead advisory board. She graduated on April 24 with honors.
The semifinals of the 2021 Sun Conference Women's Tennis Championship will take place On Thursday, April 29. The semifinals feature the top-seeded Keiser Seahawks versus the St. Thomas Bobcats, and the second-seeded SCAD Savannah Bees versus the Ave Maria Gyrenes. Both matches are slated to begin a 10:00 a.m. from the Marta B. Torrey Tennis Complex in Brunswick, Georgia.
2021 Sun Conference Women's Tennis All-Conference
(Listed Alphabetically)
First Team
Camilla Abbate, SO Keiser
Maissane Aik, FR Keiser
Alisha Hussain, JR Keiser
Hannah Larimore, FR Keiser
Priya Sukkanha, JR SCAD Savannah
Lara Teodoro, JR Ave Maria
Yue Yu, FR SCAD Savannah
Second Team
Lisa Khamassi, SR Keiser
Dugleisy Linarez, SR Keiser
Beatrice Letizia, SO Southeastern
Isabella Perez Flores, FR Keiser
Sarah Schaerer, JR Keiser
Eika Johanna Weber, GS SCAD Savannah
2021 Sun Conference Women's Tennis Award Winners
Player of the Year
Camilla Abbate, SO, Keiser
Freshman of the Year
Yue Yu, SCAD Savannah
Doubles Team of the Year
Maissane Aik, FR / Alisha Hussain, JR, Keiser
Coach of the Year
Daniel Finn, Keiser
Champion of Character
Savannah Hancock, SR, Warner
ABOUT THE SUN CONFERENCE
Now entering its 31st year, The Sun Conference, a 501c3 organization, continues to be one of the most successful intercollegiate athletic conferences in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Under the guidance of Commissioner Dustin Wilke, the league sponsors championships in 18 NAIA sports: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Golf, Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field and Women's Volleyball. Corporate sponsorship of the Conference has increased ten-fold; but most importantly, every Sun Conference member institution earned the NAIA's prestigious 5-Star Champions of Character Award in each of the last five years. Learn more @ thesunconference.com