RUSTON – After guiding the Louisiana Tech women's tennis program to a historic season, head coach
Amanda Stone was named the 2023 Conference USA Women's Tennis Coach of the Year in a vote by the league coaches.
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Stone was joined by
Leonie Schuknecht and
Olga Bienzobas who earned All-Conference USA honors in singles while the duo of Bienzobas and
Alexia Romero received All-Conference USA honors in doubles.
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The seventh-year head coach led LA Tech to arguably its greatest season in program history. The Lady Techsters finished the spring with a 20-6 record, the second most wins ever and the second most wins in C-USA. Included in that were victories over Mountain West champion Wyoming and South Florida, both of whom are currently nationally ranked.
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LA Tech is currently ranked No. 73 in the country in the ITA Collegiate Tennis team rankings, having been ranked for a program-record four consecutive weeks. Their debut in the national rankings came on April 4 when they entered at No. 64, their highest ranking ever.
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The Lady Techsters made more history by finishing fourth in C-USA as well as advancing to the C-USA Championship semifinals for the first time ever after a 4-0 shutout against Florida Atlantic.
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Stone became the first head coach in the program's 47-year history to earn conference coach of the year honors.
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Schuknecht was named First Team All-Conference USA after putting together a 2022-23 singles record of 24-5. She was a two-time C-USA Athlete of the Month recipient in the fall and a two-time C-USA Athlete of the Week recipient in the spring (most honors of any C-USA player this season).
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The junior registered a 16-3 dual singles mark, playing every match from the No. 1 position. Her .842 winning percentage was the highest of any C-USA player at the top singles spot. She opened the spring with a nine-match winning streak, including victories over current ranked teams in Wyoming, Tulsa, and USF.
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Bienzobas was named Second Team All-Conference USA after recording a 2022-23 singles record of 22-11, the second most victories on the squad. The junior posted a 14-7 dual singles record in the spring, playing primarily from the No. 2 position. She won eight of her last nine matches, including dominant victories over C-USA foes in UAB (6-2, 6-2) and UTEP (6-0, 6-2).
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It marked the first time since 2017 that LA Tech has had multiple singles players receive All-Conference USA honors. Â
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The San Sebastian, Spain native was also named Second Team All-Conference USA in doubles along with her partner
Alexia Romero. The duo teamed up for the first time this spring on March 18, playing a total of 10 dual matches together (nine completed).
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The tandem ended up registering a 7-2 record, playing every match from the No. 2 position. They closed the season on a six-match winning streak, going a perfect 3-0 during the regular season against C-USA opponents – defeated UAB (7-5), UTEP 6-2), and Charlotte (6-3). They also took down the 75th-ranked ranked doubles team in the country in the C-USA Tournament semifinals, defeating FIU (7-6).
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Bienzobas/Romero became just the third LA Tech doubles team ever to receive all-conference honors (first since 2016).
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For all the latest in LA Tech Tennis, follow them on Twitter (@LATechTennis), Instagram (@LATechTennis), and Facebook (LATechTennis).
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2023 C-USA Women's Tennis All-Conference Winners Â
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Player of the YearÂ
Oyinlomo Quadre, FIUÂ
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Freshman of the Year Â
Oyinlomo Quadre, FIU
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Newcomer of the YearÂ
Salma Loudili, FIUÂ
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Singles Player of the ChampionshipÂ
Yasmine Kabbaj, FIU
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Doubles Team of the Championship
Ekaterina Khairutdinova/Kamila Umarova, FIU
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Coach of the Year Â
Amanda Stone, Louisiana Tech
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All-ConferenceÂ
USA Singles First Team Â
Lucia Quiterio, CharlotteÂ
Lucie Petuzelova, CharlotteÂ
Oyinlomo Quadre, FIUÂ
Yasmine Kabbaj, FIUÂ
Leonie Schuknecht, Louisiana Tech
Allison Zipoli, RiceÂ
Federica Trevisan, RiceÂ
Aleksandra Zlatarova, UTSAÂ
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All-ConferenceÂ
USA Singles Second TeamÂ
Ruxi Schech, CharlotteÂ
Margaux Maquet, CharlotteÂ
Salma Loudili, FIUÂ
Katerina Mandelikova, FIUÂ
Martina Kudelova, FAU
Olga Bienzobas, Louisiana TechÂ
Love-Star Alexis, Middle TennesseeÂ
Matilde Morais, North TexasÂ
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All-ConferenceÂ
USA Doubles First Team Â
Margaux Maquet/Lucia Quiterio, Charlotte
Ekaterina Khairutdinova/Kamila Umarova, FIUÂ
Yasmine Kabbaj/Oyinlomo Quadre, FIUÂ
Diae El Jardi/Allison Zipoli, RiceÂ
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All-ConferenceÂ
USA Doubles Second Team Â
Ruxi Schech/Kaavya Sawhney, CharlotteÂ
Salma Loudili/Katerina Mandelikova, FIUÂ
Alexia Romero/Olga Bienzobas, Louisiana TechÂ
Jasmine Adams/Matilde Morais, North TexasÂ
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C-USA All-Freshman TeamÂ
Lucia Aranda, CharlotteÂ
Oyinlomo Quadre, FIUÂ
Ekaterina Khairutdinova, FIUÂ
Katerina Mandelikova, FIUÂ
Matilde Morais, North TexasÂ
Darya Schwartzman, Rice