Big West Women's Tennis All-Conference Awards Announced

Files associated with this release:
2012 Women's Tennis All-Conference Team

5/1/2012

Long Beach State senior Anais Dallara headlined the 2012 women's tennis all-conference team with her selection as the Big West Player of the Year.  Long Beach State's Jenny Hilt-Costello earned Big West Coach of the Year praise while Iveta Masarova of Pacific earned Freshman of the Year recognition.
   
Dallara, a native of Valbonne, France, continued a tradition of excellence at Long Beach State as the program's fourth Player of the Year recipient.  She joined the likes of Jing Chen (1998), Anastasia Dvornikova (2001) and Hannah Grady (2006-09) on the list.  The senior dominated the Big West landscape in 2012 with a 10-0 record against conference opponents.  She sported a 17-5 overall dual record playing all but one match at the No. 1 singles position for the 49ers.  Dallara, ranked No. 101 nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), became LBSU's all-time singles and combined wins leader this season.  Her 97 singles victories surpassed Grady, the former 49er great and current assistant coach who racked up four straight Player of the Year awards during her career.
   
Hilt-Costello led Long Beach State to its eighth Big West Tournament title in the last nine years, and ninth overall, as the 49ers defeated Cal State Fullerton, UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine last week at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.  The nine tournament crowns are the most in Big West history.  In her 15th season at LBSU, Hilt-Costello guided the program to its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance by virtue of winning the conference tournament.  Hilt-Costello also steered the 49ers to their sixth Big West regular season title in the last seven seasons.  The 49ers finished 8-0 in league play, marking the fifth time since 2006 that her teams have gone undefeated.
   
Masarova, who hails from Trencin, Slovakia, represents the first Tiger to receive Freshman of the Year accolades.  Masarova compiled a 9-8 dual match record, including a 7-6 mark at No. 1 singles.  Masarova also posted a 4-3 record against Big West opponents to claim a spot on the all-conference first team in singles.  She defeated fellow first team honoree Alexa Lee of Cal Poly for one of her signature wins in singles and her play also warranted a spot on the all-conference second team in doubles.
   
The complete 2012 Big West All-Conference Team can be viewed by clicking on the link above: