PROVIDENCE, R.I. – UCF sophomore Valeriya Zeleva, who led the Knights to their first American Athletic Conference Championship, has been named as the 2019 American Athletic Conference Women’s Tennis Player of the Year by the league’s head coaches.
The Knights’ Marie Mattel and USF’s Laura Pellicer Perello were chosen as the conference’s Freshmen of the Year. UCF’s Bryan Koniecko was chosen as The American’s Coach of the Year for the second straight season.
Zeleva, a sophomore from Moscow, went 17-5 at No. 1 singles in dual matches, including a 9-5 record against nationally ranked opponents. She was the Most Outstanding Player at this year’s American Athletic Conference Championship after she went 2-0 in singles matches, including a straight-set win against a ranked opponent in the final. She was The American’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championship in singles and is ranked No. 40 in the Oracle/ITA rankings, the highest of any American Athletic Conference player.
Zeleva becomes the first UCF player to be named Player of the Year by The American.
Mattel, who hails from Le Plessis-Bouchard, France, also played a key role in the Knights’ American Athletic Conference Championship season as she went 14-5 in singles play and joined partner Rebeka Stolmar for an 11-1 doubles mark. She becomes the second consecutive UCF player to earn Freshman of the Year honors from The American, following Stolmar, who won in 2018.
Pellicer Perello also was chosen as Freshman of the Year, becoming the second USF player to be so named (Ana Roman Dominguez, 2016). The Gandia, Spain, native went 15-8 in dual matches, including a 6-0 mark at the No. 4 position, to help USF reach the final match of The American Championship.
Koniecko repeats as The American Coach of the Year after he helped the Knights to a 22-3 season entering the NCAA Championship. UCF enters the NCAA field at No. 23 in the Oracle/ITA rankings and went 6-3 against ranked teams during the season. Koniecko has taken the Knights to the NCAA tournament in back-to-back years for only the second time in program history (1999-2000). UCF went 6-0 against American Athletic Conference opponents in 2019 and registered 4-0 wins in all three matches of the conference tournament.
Zeleva was one of two unanimous selections to The American’s all-conference team, joining Roman Dominguez, who earned her third career all-conference nod. Three players - Rebeka Stolmar of UCF, Martina Okalova of Tulsa and Fatima Bizhukova of Wichita State - were repeat all-conference selections from last season, while Tulane’s Ivone Alvaro and Tulsa’s Martha Matoula both earned their second selections to the all-conference team.
Memphis senior Anki Wind completes her career as The American’s first four-time all-conference selection in women’s tennis, while Laskutova and Ruiz were named to the all-conference team for the third time. Houston’s Tsveta Dimitrova was chosen for the second straight year.
2019 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S TENNIS POSTSEASON HONORS
All-Conference Team
Ksenia Kuznetsova, UCF
Rebeka Stolmar, UCF
Valeriya Zeleva, UCF *
Lisa Hofbauer, ECU
Laura Bente, Memphis
Ana Roman Dominguez, USF *
Laura Pellicer Perello, USF
Vivienne Kulicke, SMU
Ivone Alvaro, Tulane
Martha Matoula, Tulsa
Martina Okalova, Tulsa
Fatima Bizhukova, Wichita State
* unanimous selection
Player of the Year
Valeriya Zeleva, UCF
Freshmen of the Year
Marie Mattel, UCF
Laura Pellicer Perello, USF
Coach of the Year
Bryan Koniecko, UCF