ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Great Lakes Valley Conference announced Thursday evening that University of Indianapolis sophomore Hanna Volikova has been named the 2017 GLVC Player of the Year in the sport of women’s tennis. Chung-Yen Huang of Drury University 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 was selected by the league coaches and recognized for their efforts at an awards reception on the eve of the 2017 GLVC Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championship Tournament, which begins on Friday in St. Louis, Missouri. A total of 16 student-athletes from both the GLVC East and West Divisions were recognized as All-Conference honorees. In addition, 14 student-athletes were named GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award nominees.
Volikova, the 2016 GLVC Freshman of the Year, is the fifth Greyhound to earn the league’s top honor, but her recognition marks the ninth time the award has gone to a UIndy player. Stephanie Hirsch was the most recent recipient of the award in 2015, while GLVC Hall of Famer June Wernke was a four-time Player of the Year from 1986-89, Pamela Rodriguez earned back-to-back selections in 1996 and 1997 and Grace Wilhoite picked up the laurel in 2002. Volikova went 14-3 in dual matches this spring as only three of her match victories went to three sets. Overall for 2016-17, the sophomore holds a 25-4 record that includes tournament results from the fall campaign. Volikova is ranked 4th in the nation and first in the Midwest Region in singles and finds herself 22nd nationally and second regionally in doubles with junior partner Florence Renard, playing at No. 1 with a 13-4 dual record and 20-5 overall mark. The product of Yalta, Crime, Ukraine, was a three-time GLVC Player of the Week, earning back-to-back nods on March 28 and April 4 as well as the Feb. 14 honor, and also fills a spot on the All-GLVC team.
Huang joins two other Panthers as the top league freshman, following in the footsteps of Stefanie Monsch and Natalia Kozel as winners in 2012 and 2013, respectively. She went 15-5 this spring, spending most of her time at the No. 3 spot with a 14-3 record. Additionally, the New Taipai, Taiwan, native was perfect in doubles at 17-0, playing in both the No. 2 and No. 3 slots, primarily partnering with sophomore Josephine Jedrychowski at No. 3.
Drury and UIndy headline the 16-member All-GLVC squad with three nods apiece, while Lewis University and University of Missouri-St. Louis earned two honorees. The selections included eight players each from the East and West Divisions. Joining Volikova from UIndy is Renard and senior Stephanie Hirsch, while junior Larissa Karl, sophomore JiaQing Mo and senior Lara Muller were the three Drury selections. Lewis is represented by 2016 GLVC Player of the Year redshirt-junior Dora Andrejszki and junior Nora Mindiyarova, and UMSL’s recognition came via sophomores Salome Bleuler and Jennifer Hauer. Bellarmine University, University of Illinois Springfield, Maryville University, Quincy University, Rockhurst University and University of Southern Indiana all follow with one spot, respectively, in the form of sophomore Maggie Walroth, junior Jane Carter, sophomore Sarah Etter, senior Amy Kuhle, senior Janine Koleta and freshman Lauren Hambrock.
The league also recognized 14 GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award nominees. The student-athletes chosen are individuals 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.
2017 GLVC Player of the Year: Hanna Volikova, So., Indianapolis
2017 GLVC Freshman of the Year: Chung-Yen Huang, Fr., Drury
2017 GLVC Coach of the Year: Winner of Tournament
2017 ALL-GLVC WOMEN’S TENNIS POSTSEASON AWARDS
Maggie Walroth, So., BU
Larissa Karl, Jr., DU
JiaQing Mo, So., DU
Lara Muller, Sr., DU
Jane Carter, Jr., UIS
Stephanie Hirsch, Sr., UINDY
Florence Renard, Jr., UINDY
Hanna Volikova, So., UINDY
Dora Andrejszki, R-Jr., LEWIS
Nora Mindiyarova, Jr., LEWIS
Sarah Etter, So., MU
Salome Bleuler, So., UMSL
Jennifer Hauer, So., UMSL
Amy Kuhle, Sr., QU
Janine Koleta, Sr., RU
Lauren Hambrock, Fr., USI
2017 JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP NOMINEES
Ashley Jonathan, BU
JiaQing Mo, DU
Jane Carter, UIS
Stephanie Hirsch, UINDY
Dora Andrejszki, LEWIS
Sarah Etter, MU
Anna Mernick, MCK
Kristine Lindal, UMSL
Amy Kuhle, QU
Octavia Malin, RU
Clare Kost, SJC
Jennifer Mizikar, USI
Lindsey Schlichting, TSU
Whitney Holloman, WJC