Women's Tennis

Hawai`i Pacific’s Busson Leads All-PacWest Award Winners

SURPRISE, Ariz. – On Wednesday evening, the PacWest announced the 2019 Women’s Tennis All-PacWest team at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Club and Elodie Busson earned recognition as the Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year after helping the Sharks go undefeated in conference play.

Fresno Pacific’s Alice Di Matteo is the PacWest Freshman of the Year and Cal State LA head coach Sandy Kriezel was selected by her peers as the PacWest Coach of the Year. Academy of Art led the league in All-PacWest selections with five, including three on the first team for singles.

Busson had a 9-3 record in her first year at Hawai`i Pacific and the junior recorded seven of those wins at the No. 1 singles position. The native of Poille Sur Vegre, France started the year at No. 3 singles and quickly moved up to the top of the Sharks’ lineup. She went 4-1 on the year against nationally-ranked players, including a win over then No. 1 Zuza Maciejewska from Barry. Busson helped Hawai`i Pacific finish the regular season undefeated against West Region teams with a 7-0 record with four wins against nationally-ranked teams this year.

Kriezel helped Cal State LA earn six wins in the regular season this year, including victories over Biola, Dominican and Concordia. She has spent nine years coaching the Golden Eagles, and has helped turn the program into a perennial contender with the team frequently being ranked nationally in the top 50.

Di Matteo helped Fresno Pacific record the best record in the PacWest during the regular season with a 13-2 record. The No. 3 singles player went 12-2 on the season with a perfect 2-0 record at No. 2 singles and a six-match winning streak to conclude the regular season. She had five wins against PacWest opponents during the season, including sweeping Holy Names’ Dominique Ernst.

Monika Stanikova made her third appearance on the All-PacWest list. Despite having her season shortened by injury, the senior recorded big wins against Ghazal Pakbaten from Concordia and Jensyn Warren from Sonoma State, who both merited All-PacWest honors as well. Pakbaten went 13-5 in the regular season and Warren finished the regular season on a five-match winning streak at No. 1 singles.

Stanikova is joined on the first team by her teammates, Alma and Klara Thell-Lenntorp, who both earned their second All-PacWest awards for singles. The twins were also the top vote getters in doubles, making the All-PacWest doubles team for the fourth time in their careers.

Cassidy Ferrell from Stanislaus State had the PacWest’s best win-loss record at No. 1 singles at 16-2, and was named to the first team. Petra Ivankovic was also named the first team with a 9-3 record at No. 1 singles for Azusa Pacific. Ivankovic had two wins over first-team honorees, beating Pakbaten and Alma Thell-Lenntorp in the ITA West Regional.
2019 ALL-PACWEST WOMEN’S TENNIS AWARDS
Player of the Year Elodie Busson Hawai`i Pacific
Newcomer of the Year Elodie Busson Hawai`i Pacific
Freshman of the Year Alice Di Matteo Fresno Pacific
Coach of the Year Sandy Kriezel Cal State LA
 
2019 ALL-PACWEST WOMEN’S TENNIS SINGLES
Name School Year Hometown
FIRST TEAM
Elodie Busson Hawai`i Pacific Jr. Poille Sur Vegre, France
Ghazal Pakbaten * Concordia So. Mashhad, Iran
Alma Thell-Lenntorp Academy of Art Sr. Lund, Sweden
Monika Stanikova ** Academy of Art Sr. Trencin, Slovakia
Cassidy Ferrell * Stanislaus State Sr. San Diego
Klara Thell-Lenntorp * Academy of Art Sr. Lund, Sweden
Petra Ivankovic * Azusa Pacific So. Makarska, Croatia
SECOND TEAM
Jensyn Warren *** Sonoma State Sr. Woodland Hills, Calif.
Elisa Elhadj Hawai`i Pacific Jr. Basel, Switzerland
Alice Di Matteo Fresno Pacific Fr. Palermo, Italy
Luciana Di Laura * Cal State LA Sr. Lima, Peru
Mihoki Miyahara Hawai`i Pacific Jr. Tosu City, Japan
THIRD TEAM
Shelby Groeneveld * Point Loma Jr. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Kara Hinton Azusa Pacific Sr. San Jose, Calif.
Mariacristina Andrisani Academy of Art Jr. Matera, Italy
Marina Lex Fresno Pacific Jr. Munich, Germany
Chelsey Ruiz Cal State LA So. Fresno, Calif.
Sofia Ragona Academy of Art Fr. Turin, Italy
 
2019 ALL-PACWEST WOMEN’S TENNIS DOUBLES
School Name Year Hometown
FIRST TEAM
Academy of Art Alma Thell-Lenntorp ***
Klara Thell-Lenntorp ***
Sr.
Sr.
Lund, Sweden
Lund, Sweden
Hawai`i Pacific Elodie Busson
Elisa Elhadj
Jr.
Jr.
Poille Sur Vegre, France
Basel, Switzerland
Concordia Johanna Keeline
Ghazal Pakbaten
Sr.
So.
Marietta, Georgia
Mashhad, Iran
SECOND TEAM
Sonoma State Carolyn Brooner *
Jensyn Warren ***
So.
Sr.
San Diego
Woodland Hills, Calif.
Azusa Pacific Kara Hinton
Jacky Wagner
Sr.
So.
San Jose, Calif.
Arnsberg, Germany
Point Loma Gabi Armas
Ellie Gamble
So.
Jr.
San Diego
San Jose, Costa Rica
THIRD TEAM
Academy of Art Mariacristina Andrisani
Sofia Ragona
Jr.
Fr.
Matera, Italy
Turin, Italy
Hawai`i Hilo Anouk Van Hoek
Carmelle Joyner
Fr.
So.
Zaltbommel, Netherlands
Clayton, North Carolina
Fresno Pacific Sanne Brull
Alice Di Matteo
Fr.
Fr.
Maastricht, Netherlands
Palermo, Italy
Azusa Pacific Anna Savchenko
April Wong
Jr.
So.
Limassol, Cyprus
Kailua Kona, Hawaii
 
*Previously named to All-PacWest