IRVINE, Calif. (May 4, 2022) -- The All-Big West women’s tennis teams and major award winners are now revealed, four days after the conclusion of the 2022 Big West Women’s Tennis Championship. The teams and awards were voted on by the league’s ten head coaches.
UC Santa Barbara senior Shakhnoza Khatamova is The Big West Player of the Year. Khatamova went 20-12 overall, 16-5 in duals, 5-1 in conference play and 11-8 in #1 singles. She is the highest ranked singles player from the Big West in the ITA rankings, sitting at 76 in the latest edition. Khatamova not only made the All-Big West First Team as a singles player, but also as a doubles pair alongside her partner Elizaveta Volodko. Khatamova qualified as a singles player in the upcoming NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship.
UC Santa Barbara’s Amelia Honer is The Big West Freshman of the Year. Honer went 23-10 overall, 16-5 in duals, 7-0 in conference play and 15-5 in #4 singles. Honer was selected to the first team as a doubles pair alongside her partner Kira Reuter. As a singles player, she was placed on the second team.
Gaucho head coach Simon Thibodeau is The Big West Coach of the Year. In his 10th year at the helm, Thibodeau led the Gauchos to a 17-6 overall record in the regular season and a perfect 9-0 record in conference play. UC Santa Barbara only gave up a single point at The Big West Championship, defeating UC Irvine 4-0 in the quarterfinals, Cal State Fullerton 4-0 in the semifinals and Cal Poly 4-1 to win the title. The Gauchos are currently ranked 24th as a team in the latest ITA rankings.
The All-Big West First Team was diverse as seven singles players from seven different schools made the list. Joining Khatamova is Cal Poly senior Kim Bhunu (12-10), UC Irvine graduate student Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico (20-11), Long Beach State freshman Nikola Homolkova (18-17), CSUN senior Ekaterina Repina (5-4), Hawai’i sophomore Lea Romain (11-7) and Cal State Fullerton senior YuSeung Suh (8-6). The doubles pairs that made the first team were Cal Poly’s Bhunu and Emily Ackerman (15-8), UC Santa Barbara’s Honer and Reuter (15-5), Cal State Fullerton’s Eira Tobrand and Camila Garcia, and UC Santa Barbara’s Khatamova and Volodko (18-6).
Singles players on the second team are UC Davis junior Yana Gureich, UC Santa Barbara’s Honer, UC Santa Barbara sophomore Camille Kiss, Long Beach Sate junior Zara Lennon, UC Davis senior Sara Tsukamoto and UC Santa Barbara senior Elizaveta Volodko. The doubles pairs that made the second team are Long Beach State’s Lennon and Sheena Masuda, Tsukamoto and Lauren Ko of UC Davis, Romain and Satsuki Takamura of Hawai’i, and Cal Poly’s Melissa LaMette and Delanie Dunkle.
| 2022 All-Big West First Team
|
| Student-Athlete |
Year |
Institution |
Hometown |
| Kim Bhunu |
Sr. |
Cal Poly |
Harare, Zimbabwe |
| Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico |
Gr. |
UC Irvine |
Paris, France |
| Nikola Homolkova |
R-Fr. |
Long Beach State |
Pelhrimov, Czech Republic |
| Shakhnoza Khatamova |
Sr. |
UC Santa Barbara |
Fergana City, Uzbekistan |
| Ekaterina Repina |
Sr. |
CSUN |
Voronezh, Russia |
| Lea Romain |
So. |
Hawai'i |
Maribeau, France |
| YuSeung Suh |
Sr. |
Cal State Fullerton |
Seoul, South Korea |
| Emily Ackerman/Kim Bhunu |
Sr./Sr. |
Cal Poly |
Thousand Oaks, Calif./Harare, Zimbabwe |
| Amelia Honer/Kira Reuter |
Fr./Jr. |
UC Santa Barbara |
Newton, Pa./Cambridge, England |
| Shakhnoza Khatamova/Elizaveta Volodko |
Sr./Sr. |
UC Santa Barbara |
Fergana City, Uzbekistan/Moscow, Russia |
| Eira Tobrand/Camila Garcia |
Sr./Jr. |
Cal State Fullerton |
Goethenurg, Sweden/Lisbon, Portugal |
| 2022 All-Big West Second Team |
| Student-Athlete |
Year |
Institution |
Hometown |
| Yana Gurevich |
Jr. |
UC Davis |
Los Gatos, Calif. |
| Amelia Honer |
Fr. |
UC Santa Barbara |
Newton, Pa. |
| Camille Kiss |
So. |
UC Santa Barbara |
Redlands, Calif. |
| Zara Lennon |
Jr. |
Long Beach State |
Grand Bay, Mauritius |
| Sara Tsukamoto |
Sr. |
UC Davis |
Kailua, Hawaii |
| Elizaveta Volodko |
Sr. |
UC Santa Barbara |
Moscow, Russia |
| Zara Lennon/Sheena Masuda |
Sr./Fr. |
Long Beach State |
Grand Bay, Mauritius/Hong Kong, China |
| Sara Tsukamoto/Lauren Ko |
Sr./Jr. |
UC Davis |
Kailua, Hawaii/Temple City, Calif. |
| Lea Romain/Satsuki Takamura |
So./Jr. |
Hawai'i |
Mirabeau, France/Saitama, Japan |
| Delanie Dunkle/Melissa LaMette |
Jr./Jr. |
Cal Poly |
Arroyo Grande, Calif./Cypress, Tex. |
| Honorable Mention Singles: Laura Bente (Cal Poly), Melissa LaMette (Cal Poly), Ella Pachl (UC San Diego), Arianna Stavropoulos (UC Davis), Satsuki Takamura (Hawai’i), Ana Vilcek (Hawai’i); |
| Honorable Mention Doubles: Laura Bente/Peyton Dunkle (Cal Poly), Jolene Coetzee/Ana Isabela Fraile Toboso (CSUN), Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico/Jenna Schlatter (UC Irvine), Nikola Homolkova/Peppi Ramstedt (Long Beach State), Ella Pachl/Sophie Pearson (UC San Diego), YuSeung Suh/Natalie Duffy (Cal State Fullerton); |