Four Women's Tennis Athletes Named All-Sun Belt

NEW ORLEANS - Four student-athletes for Appalachian State University women's tennis received All-Sun Belt accolades on Wednesday, the conference office announced.

All four athletes in María José Zacarias, Teodora Sevo, Melissa Machado and Heidi Swope received recognition by the conference for their solid regular seasons, which helped App double its win total from 2017 en route to a 10-10 mark (5-19 in 2017). 

For Machado and Swope, it's their first recognition by the Sun Belt in the postseason, while Zacarias and Sevo's splash in their freshmen campaigns has led to both an all-singles and doubles honor. Sevo was also named the Sun Belt's Player to Watch as one of next season's top players to watch in the Sun Belt after 24 combined wins. Sevo is the first student-athlete from App to collect the prestigious achievement.

It's also the first time since 2015 and the first in the Blake Mosley Era that a student-athlete garnered a Sun Belt Postseason Award.

"This recognition from the Sun Belt validates all of the hard work the team has put in this season," coach Mosley said. "The awards the players received are very deserving, and I can't wait to see what they do in the conference tournament. Thank you to the Sun Belt coaches who voted for these achievements." 

Swope and Zacarias were named to the First Team All-Sun Belt doubles team following a solid season of 11-6 as the No. 1 duo for the entire season. The pairing posted impressive wins against Power Five foes against Virginia Tech and NC State, while also picking up conference victories against Coastal Carolina and archrival Georgia Southern. 

Zacarias was named all-second team singles with Sevo. Both first-year Mountaineers were No. 1 and No. 2 in the lineup, respectively. Zacarias was second on the team with 10 wins and defeated such opponents from VT, ODU and Charlotte, while at one point went on an 8-1 stretch over nine matches. She also had a solid showing in the fall with a win over TCU. 

For Sevo,  the freshman registered a team-high 11 victories as the No. 2 in the lineup. Sevo downed foes from Georgia State and Georgia Southern in conference action and toppled non-conference opponents against Charlotte, UNCG, and TCU.

On top of Sevo's 11 wins, her 13 wins in doubles with Machado helped the pairing to their all-second team doubles honor. The 13 wins are a team best and are 7-3 over their last 10 matches. Machado and Sevo picked up victories over such opponents as Charleston Southern, Virginia Tech, and Charlotte. 

All four athletes and the Mountaineers will look to make a run in the Sun Belt Tournament on Thursday when they take on No. 10 seed Texas State in the first round. First serve is set for 11:30 a.m. in Peachtree City, Ga.

2017-18 SUN BELT WOMEN'S TENNIS POSTSEASON AWARDS

All-Sun Belt First Team

Singles
Iryna Vardanian, Coastal Carolina (Jr., Kiev, Ukraine)
Kristin Rehse, Georgia State (Sr., Hofheim, Germany)
Kelly Drew, Louisiana (Sr., Auckland, New Zealand) 
Stefana Andrei, ULM (Sr., Bucharest, Romania)
Yu Fujioka, South Alabama (Fr., Tokyo, Japan)
Alexandria Stitler, South Alabama (Jr., Bradenton, Fla.)

Doubles
Heidi Swope (Jr., Weddington, N.C.) and Maria José Zacarias (Fr., San Luis Potosi, Mexico), Appalachian State
Iryna Vardanian (Jr., Kiev, Ukraine) and Natalie Wall (Sr., Liverpool, England), Coastal Carolina
Sara Bondar (Sr., Szeghalom, Hungary) and Somer Dalla-Bona (Fr., Bokarina, Australia), Coastal Carolina

 All-Sun Belt Second Team

Singles
Teodora Sevo, Appalachian State (Fr., Futog, Serbia)
María José Zacarias, Appalachian State (Fr., San Luis Potosi, Mexico)
Rylie Cox, Coastal Carolina (So., Rockwall, Texas)
Arianne de Winter, Georgia Southern (So., Nieuwerkerk aan den Ijssel, South Holland, Netherlands)
Damira Muminovic, Georgia State (So., Tuzla, Bosnia)
Karolina Snita, ULM (So., Glowgow, Poland)
Agustina Serio, UTA (Sr., Tandil, Argentina)

Doubles
Melissa Machado (Sr., Miami, Fla.) and Teodora Sevo (Fr., Futog, Serbia), Appalachian State      
Arianne de Winter (So., Nieuwerkerk aan den Ijssel, South Holland, Netherlands) and Paula Boixader (So., Barcelona, Spain), Georgia Southern
Stefana Andrei (Sr., Bucharest, Romania) and Karolina Snita (So., Glowgow, Poland), ULM

Player of the Year
Kristin Rehse, Georgia State (Sr., Hofheim, Germany)

Player to Watch
Teodora Sevo, Appalachian State (Fr., Futog, Serbia)

Newcomer of the Year
Iryna Vardanian, Coastal Carolina (Jr., Kiev, Ukraine)

Freshman of the Year
Yu Fujioka, South Alabama (Fr., Tokyo, Japan)

Coach of the Year
???????Rawia Elsisi, Troy