April 24, 2013
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Senior Jaklin Alawi and junior Katerina Popova from the South Carolina women’s tennis team were named to the All-SEC Second Team, the conference office announced Wednesday afternoon.
Alawi has held a national ranking in singles the entire season, ascending as high as No. 34. She reached the singles quarterfinals of the ITA Carolina Regional Championships in October and played the No. 1 singles spot virtually every match. Alawi and junior Dominika Kanakova also competed in the doubles championship match at the regional. The duo finished the regular season with a 22-10 record overall and went 13-5 in dual matches at the top slot. After the SEC Tournament, they improved to 23-10 and 14-5. The two are currently ranked No. 35 nationally and have been as high as 33rd this spring. As an individual, Alawi owns a 26-11 record in doubles play this season.
Popova held a national ranking in singles the entire spring, topping out at 96th. She leads the team in singles victories with a 20-10 mark and won more dual matches than any Gamecock with a 14-7 slate. Popova finished 7-5 in SEC contests during the regular season and was 13-5 at No. 2 singles while also appearing at the No. 1 position for three matches. Popova, this year’s team MVP, was one of three Gamecocks during the regular season to win SEC Player of the Week honors, doing so after Carolina picked up wins at Arkansas and LSU. She and senior Josefin Andersson own the team’s best dual record in doubles contests at 16-3. They were 7-2 in SEC play and entered the national rankings this week for the first time in their careers at No. 66.
A complete list of the awards follows.
Coach of the Year: Roland Thornqvist, Florida
Player of the Year: Lauren Embree, Florida
Freshman of the Year: Pleun Burgmans Auburn
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Antonia Foehse, Alabama
All-SEC First Team
Alexa Guarachi, Alabama
Mary Anne Macfarlane, Alabama
Yang Pang, Arkansas
Pleun Burgmans, Auburn
Lauren Embree, Florida
Sofie Oyen, Florida
Lauren Herring, Georgia
Maho Kowase, Georgia
Kata Szekely, Tennessee
Brynn Boren, Tennessee
Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar, Texas A&M
Nazari Urbina, Texas A&M
All-SEC Second Team
Antonia Foehse, Alabama
Claudine Paulson, Arkansas
Nadia Ravita, Kentucky
Alexandra Cercone, Florida
Olivia Janowicz, Florida
Brianna Morgan, Florida
Kate Fuller, Georgia
Silvia Garcia, Georgia
Caroline Rohde-Moe, Ole Miss
Georgiana Patrasc, Mississippi State
Jaklin Alawi, South Carolina
Katerina Popova, South Carolina
Cristina Stancu, Texas A&M
All-Freshman Team
Natalia Maynetto, Alabama
Yang Pang, Arkansas
Pleun Burgmans, Auburn
Brianna Morgan, Florida
Silvia Garcia, Georgia
Nadia Ravita, Kentucky
