2013 Women's Tennis All-Conference Release
The 2013 All-Big West Women's Tennis All-Conference awards featured a southern California flair with UC Irvine, Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton grabbing the attention.
UC Irvine senior
Kristina Smith earned the Big West Player of the Year nod after an outstanding season at the top of the lineup. She registered a 20-3 record exclusively at the No. 1 singles position and went undefeated in nine meetings against Big West opposition. The Laguna Niguel, Calif. native won her last 17 singles contests as she moved up to No. 88 nationally in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. Among Smith's victims during the season were No. 118 Klara Vyskocilova of Tulane, No. 112 Kaitlin Burns of LSU, No. 98 Edyta Cieplucha of SMU. Ranked third in school history with 75 career dual match wins, Smith was a driving force behind UCI's 20-match win streak and undefeated Big West run to the regular season title. Smith is UCI's first Player of the Year recipient since Anna Bentzer earned back-to-back honors in 2004 and 2005.
Long Beach State's
Ebba Unden claimed Freshman of the Year honors splitting time between the No. 1 and No. 2 draws for the Big West Tournament champions. Unden notched a combined 15-7 singles dual match record, including an 8-4 mark from the No. 1 spot. The native of Stockholm, Sweden went 5-2 against Big West opposition during the regular season and knocked off fellow all-conference selections Megan Heneghan of UC Davis and April Scatliffe of UC Santa Barbara in the Big West Tournament. Unden helped the 49ers win their third straight Big West Tournament title, and ninth in the last 10 years. In addition, the 49ers have advanced to the program's 10th NCAA Tournament with Unden's assistance.
Mike Edles of UC Irvine and
Bill Reynolds of Cal State Fullerton were named the Big West Co-Coaches of the Year.
Edles was tabbed Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his career (2000 (co), 2002, 2007, 2010) as he guided UC Irvine to a 22-4 record and the Big West regular season championship with an unblemished 9-0 mark. The 22 wins represent the most during his 17-year tenure at UCI, eclipsing the 21 matches the Anteaters won in 2007. Edles boosted UCI to its highest national ranking in school history – No. 23 – earlier this season and the Anteaters are ranked 31st heading into the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection. In addition, UCI carried a 20-match win streak at one point with victories over ranked foes No. 55 Tulane, No. 33 Pepperdine, No. 46 LSU, No. 38 Long Beach State and No. 71 Louisville.
Reynolds concludes a 24-year career at Cal State Fullerton with his first Coach of the Year honor. The Titans finished 11-14 overall and 4-5 in Big West play, marking the most victories for the program since the 2004 squad posted a 12-10 record. In addition, the four league victories represent CSF's highest total since the Big West began round-robin play in 2006. Reynolds guided the Titans to the fifth seed in the Big West Tournament, the program's highest designation in the bracket since the beginning of round-robin play.
The complete listing of the 2013 Big West All-Conference Team can be accessed above: