INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced Friday that University of Indianapolis senior Anna Novikova has been named the GLVC Player of the Year in the sport of women’s tennis. Drury University’s Ewa Samberger was voted 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, as a total of 17 student-athletes – eight from the East and West Divisions, as well as a tie – were recognized as All-Conference honorees. In addition, 14 student-athletes were named GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award nominees.
Novikova becomes the seventh Greyhound to earn the league’s top honor, while her recognition marks the 13th time the merit has gone to a UIndy player. The Kiev, Ukraine, native played all but the season finale at No. 1 singles, earning a 12-3 record that included two wins over ranked opponents, while she is ranked 31st by the ITA. Her doubles record during the regular season was 11-4, all at No. 1 that included a combination of partnerships with Maissane Aik, Arina Amaning, Lea Cakarevic, and Maria Solnyshkina. Novikova is one of four players to be named a unanimous All-GLVC selection.
Samberger is the fourth Panthers player to earn the highest newcomer award after Stefanie Monsch (2012), Natalia Kozel (2013), and Chung-Yen Huang’s most recent nod in 2017. She went 10-7 at No. 1 singles and 12-4 at No. 1 doubles, partnering with Kseniia Eremina for all but one match. The Lubland, Poland, native is also one of three Drury teammates on the All-GLVC team.
UIndy headlines the 17-member All-GLVC squad with four nods, while Drury follows with three. University of Illinois Springfield and Southwest Baptist University both earned two honorees apiece. With one laurel each were Lewis University, Lindenwood University, Maryville University, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Quincy University, and Rockhurst University.
The selections include eight players each from the East and West Divisions, as well as one tie in the East. Joining Novikova from UIndy included Isabella Dunlap, Maisanne Aik, and Kristina Lagoda. The Drury award winners with Samberger included Alma Abazi (unanimous) and Nastasia Jedrychowski, while UIS and SBU duos repectively included Carmen Llopis and Riann Hsu, as well as Paula Ballesteros (unanimous) and Diana Cabrera. Lewis’ Anastasiya Salenko, Lindenwood’s Claire Martin, Maryville’s Emily Orlove, UMSL’s Odette Beagrie (unanimous), Quincy’s Laila Leist-Alston, and Rockhurst’s Valentine Limauge round out the team.
The league also recognized Southern Indiana as its GLVC Women’s Tennis James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award team recipient, 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.
2022 GLVC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Anna Novikova, Indianapolis
2022 GLVC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Ewa Samberger, Drury
2022 GLVC COACH OF THE YEAR: Winner of Tournament
2022 ALL-GLVC FIRST TEAM
Alma Abazi, DU #
Ewa Samberger, DU
Nastasia Jedrychowski, DU
Carmen Llopis, UIS
Riann Hsu, UIS
Anna Novikova, UINDY #
Isabella Dunlap, UINDY
Maisanne Aik, UINDY
Kristina Lagoda, UINDY
Anastasiya Salenko, LEWIS
Claire Martin, LWU
Emily Orlove, MU
Odette Beagrie, UMSL #
Laila Leist-Alston, QU
Valentine Limauge, RU
Paula Ballesteros, SBU #
Diana Cabrera, SBU
#Unanimous selection
2022 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP HONOREES
Alma Abazi, DU
Sina Skjelstad, UIS
Kristina Lagoda, UINDY
Casey Smith, LEWIS
Paula Sostres, LWU
Nicole Pafundi, MU
Emily Kettering, MCK
Tara Erler, UMSL
Laila Leist-Alston, QU
Martyna Jankowska, RU
Rachel McCorkle, USI
Paula Ballesteros, SBU
Samantha Seggerman, TSU
Katie Boyd, WJC
2022 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM AWARD
Southern Indiana