HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss women's tennis team placed four players on the 2014 Conference USA all-conference squads as voted on by the league's coaches.
"This is awesome," Head Coach Dominic Modise said. "It shows that hard work on and off the court pays off. I'm just really proud of this young team. They had a lot of fight in every single match and I look forward to the upcoming years with this group."
The freshman group included Caolin Drescher who received second team honors while Mihitha Dadireddy, Lisa Noderer and Alex Kitchen earned third team all-conference accolades.
Drescher of Erftstadt, Germany, finished the season with a total of 19 wins on the season. In dual match play, she posted a 16-8 mark (.667), playing primarily at the No. 1 (7-5) position in her last 12 matches. Drescher began the spring season playing at No. 2 and posted a 9-3 record. She recorded an eight-match winning streak from Jan. 29 to Feb. 23. Drescher posted a C-USA match during the regular season against Rachel Daniell (UAB) and posted a 6-4, 6-0 win in the opening round of the C-USA Tournament against Victoria Pahlett (Charlotte). She teamed with Alex Kitchen and finished with a 13-7 record in doubles playing at No. 1. The duo concluded the season winning eight of their last 10 matches and a three-match winning streak while helped the Golden Eagles to a plus-12 turn-around over last season.
Dadireddy of Hyderabad, India, joined the team in January and made an immediate impact. She posted a 12-12 overall record playing at No. 1 and No. 2 singles while playing primarily at the No. 2 (8-4) position in her last 12 matches. She won eight of the last 11 matches, which included a pair of victories in the C-USA Championships with a 6-26, 6-3 over Charlotte's Lisa Grosselius and a 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-0 over FIU's A. Trifunovic. She also won a C-USA match on regular season schedule with a 6-1, 6-1 decision (over Amy Lowther of UAB) on March 22. She teamed with Lisa Noderer at No. 2 doubles and posted a 9-1 record as the duo finished with a six-match winning streak.
Noderer of Hilpolstein, Germany, finished the season with a 16-14 overall record. She posted an 11-13 record in dual match play while played primarily at No. 3 in singles (11-13). Nodere recorded a 6-3, 6-3 win over UAB's Pardis Kianoush during the regular season. She won six of her final 10 matches and earned a 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 win over FIU's Nina Nogode in the C-USA Championship. While teaming with Mahitha Dadireddy at No. 2 doubles, the duo posted a 9-1 record and finished with a six-match winning streak.
Kitchen of Palm Harbor, Fla., finished with team's best overall record at 21-9. She posted a dual match record of 17-6 including a 2-1 regular season conference record. She started the spring season play at No. 6, posting an 11-4 record with wins over Matilda Rose Tench of UTEP (6-1, 6-2) and UAB's Catherine Ragon (7-6 (4), 6-3) while closing out the season playing at No. 5 and finishing with a 6-2 record. She recorded a pair of wins in the C-USA Championship with wins over Charlotte's Tyler Baker (6-3, 6-2) and FIU's Valentina Briceno (3-6, 6-1, 7-5). Against Briceno, Kitchen fought back from a 5-2 deficit in the third set to clinch a match win for the Golden Eagles in helping Southern Miss advance to the quarterfinals. Kitchen teamed with Carolin Drescher at No. 1 doubles and posted a 13-7 record. They concluded the season winning eight of their last 10 matches and a three-match winning streak.
This is the first time since 1996 that a Southern Miss team had multiple all-conference honorees.
2014 ALL-CONFERENCE USA SINGLES TEAMS
First Team
Alexandra Starkova, LA Tech
Tiffany William, Middle Tennessee
Nikol Hristova, Old Dominion
Kseniya Bardabush, North Texas
Anastasiya Shestakova, North Texas
Natalie Beazant, Rice
Dominique Harmath, Rice
Katherine Ip, Rice
Liat Zimmermann, Rice
Klara Vyskocilova, Tulane
Marcelina Cichon, Tulsa
Renata Kuricova, Tulsa
Second Team
Macy Vonderschmidt, Charlotte
Dana Gray, East Carolina
Giulietta Boha, FIU
Carlotta Orlando, FIU
Jazmin Britos, LA Tech
Derya Turhan, Marshall
Kai Broomfield, Marshall
Dana Oppinger, Marshall
Kim Anicete, Rice
Alison Ho, Rice
Carolin Drescher, Southern Miss
Rongrong Leenabanchong, Tulsa
Maria Sant'Anna, Tulsa
Miriam Rosell Canudas, UTSA
Third Team
Anna Pomyatinskaya, Marshall
Karli Timko, Marshall
Rachael Morales, Marshall
Mahitha Dadireddy, Southern Miss
Lisa Norderer, Southern Miss
Alex Kitchen, Southern Miss
Pardis Kianoush, UAB
Rebeca Calvillo, UTEP
Davina Meza, UTEP
Jacobea Junger, UTSA
Isabelle Jonsson, UTSA
2014 ALL-CONFERENCE USA DOUBLES TEAMS
First Team
Kseniya Bardabush/Franziska Sprinkmeyer, NT
Natalie Beazant/Liat Zimmermann, Rice
Renata Kuricova/Marcelina Cichon, Tulsa
Second Team
Nikol Hristova/Melissa Esnal Olguin, Old Dominion
Dominique Harmath/Alison Ho, Rice
Katherine Ip/Solomiya Zinko, Rice
Third Team
Dana Oppinger/Derya Turhan, Marshall
Anna Pomyatinskaya/Karli Timko, Marshall
Jacobea Junger/Miriam Rosell Canudas, UTSA
Coach of the Year: Elizabeth Schmidt, Rice
Player of the Year: Klara Vyskocilova, Tulane
Freshman of the Year: Katherine Ip, Rice
Newcomer of the Year: Tiffany William, Middle Tennessee
Outstanding Singles Player of the Championship: Natalie Beazant, Rice
Outstanding Doubles Team of the Championship: Natalie Beazant/Liat Zimmermann, Rice
