INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference announced Thursday that University of Indianapolis junior Nikol Alekseeva has been named GLVC Player of the Year in the sport of women’s tennis. Teammate Sofia Sharonova was named GLVC Freshman of the Year, and the Coach of the Year will be awarded to the coach of the tournament’s winning team. The pair of Greyhounds was selected by the league coaches, as a total of 16 student-athletes from both the East and West Divisions were recognized as All-Conference honorees. In addition, 14 student-athletes were named GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award nominees.
Alekseeva went from 2019 GLVC Freshman of the Year to 2021 GLVC Player of the Year, becoming the sixth Hound to earn the league’s top honor, while her recognition marks the 12th time the merit has gone to a UIndy player. The Moscow, Russia, native earned an unblemished record of 11-0 at No. 1 singles and was also unbeaten in No. 1 doubles action at 13-0. The top-ranked singles player in Division II by Oracle/ITA is also ranked atop the doubles list with partner Anna Novikova, who is ranked eighth in singles. The junior earned her third and fourth career GLVC Player of the Week awards on Feb. 23 and March 23 and was the only unanimous selection on the All-GLVC team.
Sharonova – a sophomore academically but freshman athletically – joins six other Greyhounds as the top league newcomer, following in the footsteps of Alekseeva and the 2018 winner, Alina Kislitskaya, as well as Hanna Volikova from 2016, which followed Pamela Rodriguez (1996), Janik Belisle (1997), and Gayal Jones (2000). The Ivanovo, Russia, product played in multiple spots this spring for singles, including Nos. 3-6, with an overall record of 11-2. In doubles action, she played all matches at No. 3, earning a 12-1 clip with partner Maria Solnyshkina.
UIndy headlines the 16-member All-GLVC squad with four nods, while Drury University, University of Illinois Springfield, and Southwest Baptist University both earned three honorees apiece. With one laurel each were Lewis University, University of Missouri-St. Louis, and Rockhurst University.
The selections include eight players each from the East and West Divisions. Joining Alekseeva from UIndy includes Kislitskaya, Novikova, and Kristina Lagoda. The Drury award winners include sophomore Alma Abazi, junior Nastasia Jedrychowski, and senior Viktoriya Zheleva, while UIS’s trio includes graduate Carolina Quevedo, freshman Franca Bucco, and junior Neha Mokhasi, with the three from SBU consisting of junior Diana Cabrera, graduate Dona Abobahaga, and senior Constanca Crespo. Lewis sophomore Jovava Vujanic, UMSL graduate Marina Prediger, and Rockhurst senior Sam Czarnecki round out the team.
The league also recognized Southern Indiana as its GLVC Women’s Tennis James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award team recipients due to a tie in the voting, as well as 14 student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school’s two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced in May.
A complete list of All-GLVC performers and major postseason award winners can be found below.
2021 GLVC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Nikol Alekseeva, Jr., Indianapolis
2021 GLVC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Sofia Sharonova, Indianapolis
2021 GLVC COACH OF THE YEAR: Winner of Tournament
2021 ALL-GLVC POSTSEASON AWARDS
Alma Abazi, So., DU
Nastasia Jedrychowski, Jr., DU
Viktoriya Zheleva, Sr., DU
Carolina Quevedo, Gr., UIS
Franca Bucco, Fr., UIS
Neha Mokhasi, Jr., UIS
Nikol Alekseeva, Jr., UINDY #
Anna Novikova, Jr., UINDY
Alina Kislitskaya, Sr., UINDY
Kristina Lagoda, Sr., UINDY
Jovava Vujanic, So., LEWIS
Marina Prediger, Gr., UMSL
Sam Czarnecki, Sr., RU
Diana Cabrera, Jr., SBU
Dona Abobahaga, Gr., SBU
Constanca Crespo, Sr., SBU
#Unanimous selection
2021 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP NOMINEES
Alma Abazi, DU
Sina Skjelstad, UIS
Kristina Lagoda, UINDY
Casey Smith, LEWIS
Paula Sostres, LWU
Emily Orlove, MU
Anurag Reddy, MCK
Anna Domingo, UMSL
Laila Leist-Alston, QU
Paula Romero, RU
Rachel McCorkle, USI
David Szeri, SBU
Alex Rogers, TSU
Kelly Parrish, WJC
2021 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM AWARD
Southern Indiana