SURPRISE, Ariz. – After leading Azusa Pacific to an undefeated record against conference opponents, Petra Ivankovic was selected as the PacWest Player of the Year, leading four selections for the Cougars to the All-PacWest team.

Concordia won two awards with Camila Tumosa being named the PacWest Newcomer of the Year, while Jonathan Sanchez was chosen by his peers as the PacWest Coach of the Year. MSU Denver’s No. 1 doubles & singles player Brooklyn Ross is the PacWest Freshman of the Year.

Ivankovic was named to the All-PacWest first team in 2019, and a couple days after receiving that honor, she went on to defeat PacWest Player of the Year Elodie Busson in straight sets in a dramatic semifinal. Since then, the Cougars’ No. 1 singles player has been one of the toughest players to beat in the PacWest. During the shortened 2020 season, Ivankovic went undefeated. This year, she went 9-2 in singles and 10-2 in doubles alongside Anna Savchenko. Ivankovic won the first set in unfinished matches this season against Ghazal Pakbaten and Marleen Tilgner, who were voted by coaches as the second and third best singles players in the conference this year. She also had two wins over second-team All-PacWest selections.

Tumosa played in all three of the top singles positions for Concordia and compiled a 10-3 record for the Eagles. Her biggest win of the year came against Ross, winning 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 to help Concordia secure the win over MSU Denver. Tumosa had a five-match winning streak near the start of the season with the fifth of those wins coming at the No. 1 singles position.

Ross helped MSU Denver make an impressive start to its PacWest era with an 11-9 record in the regular season. She had a 12-5 record in singles and a 14-2 record in doubles during the regular season with her partner Isabel Heras. Ross won five singles matches in a row without dropping a set to end the regular season. She finished the year with three wins against PacWest No. 1 singles players. In doubles, Ross and Heras were undefeated against PacWest opponents, including a 7-6(4) win over Ivankovic and Savchenko. They also defeated Biola’s second-team All-PacWest doubles team, 6-3.

Sanchez helped Concordia earn the No. 2 seed at the PacWest Championships, leading the Eagles to a 13-3 record this season. He is on track to lead both the men’s and women’s tennis teams at Concordia to their first ever trip to the NCAA West Regionals. The Eagles’ No. 2 seed is their best in program history, and it comes as the result of achieving season sweeps against Point Loma and Biola.

Concordia’s Ghazal Pakbaten received her third All-PacWest selection and was ranked second by the PacWest coaches after going undefeated on the season. Hawai`i Pacific’s Marleen Tilgner, who is also undefeated this season, was selected to the first team for singles. Jacky Wagner had a 12-1 record in singles and was undefeated against PacWest opponents for Azusa Pacific, playing the No. 3 position. Biola’s Colbeyshae Emery was the only player in the PacWest this year to defeat Ivankovic, winning their third meeting in two sets. At one point, Emery had won 18 sets in a row at No. 1 singles. Sofia Ragona represented Academy of Art on the first team as a result of her win over Emery as well as her current seven-match winning streak.

Busson, Ragona, Ivankovic and Pakbaten all have received multiple All-PacWest honors in singles, while Savchenko, Pakbaten, Ragona and Gabi Armas repeated in doubles.
 

2021 ALL-PACWEST WOMEN’S TENNIS AWARDS
Player of the Year	Petra Ivankovic	Azusa Pacific
Newcomer of the Year	Camila Tumosa	Concordia
Freshman of the Year	Brooklyn Ross	MSU Denver
Coach of the Year	Jonathan Sanchez	Concordia

2021 ALL-PACWEST WOMEN’S TENNIS SINGLES
Name	School	Year	Hometown
FIRST TEAM
Petra Ivankovic **	Azusa Pacific	Jr.	Makarska, Croatia
Ghazal Pakbaten **	Concordia	Sr.	Mashhad, Iran
Marleen Tilgner	Hawai`i Pacific	Sr.	Seevetal, Germany
Sofia Ragona *	Academy of Art	So.	Turin, Italy
Jacky Wagner	Azusa Pacific	Jr.	Arnsberg, Germany
Colbeyshae Emery	Biola	Fr.	Ventura, Calif.
SECOND TEAM
Rebekah Anderson	Concordia	Sr.	Fullerton, Calif.
Lea Falentin	Fresno Pacific	So.	Vendome, France
Camila Tumosa	Concordia	Sr.	Rosario, Argentina
Anna Savchenko	Azusa Pacific	Sr.	Limassol, Cyprus
Brooklyn Ross	MSU Denver	Fr.	Littleton, Colo.
Elodie Busson *	Hawai`i Pacific	Sr.	Poille Sur Vegre, France
Yun “Nicole” Shiau	Academy of Art	So.	Taichung, Taiwan
THIRD TEAM
Mariia Borodii	Fresno Pacific	Sr.	Zaporozhye, Ukraine
Maria Vittoria Casucci	Academy of Art	Fr.	Livorno, Italy
Carolyn Brooner	Azusa Pacific	Jr.	San Diego
Thelma Sepulveda	Point Loma	Fr.	San Ysidro, Calif.
Helena Steenberg	MSU Denver	So.	Skodsborg, Denmark