ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Four Tusculum University women's tennis players have been named to the 2021 South Atlantic Conference All-Conference team, the SAC office announced Wednesday.
Annie McCullough was a first-team All-SAC selection in both singles and doubles, where she teamed with her sister Caitlin who was honorable mention All-Conference in singles. Also earning All-Conference recognition in doubles was the team of Emilie Hansen and Amber Lackey.
The quartet helped the Pioneers to a 10-7 overall record and a tie for fifth place in the SAC with a 7-5 conference mark. Tusculum has now had 73 All-Conference selections between singles and doubles since joining the conference in 1999, tied for the second-most among member schools.
Annie McCullough earns All-Conference honors in singles for the fourth time in her career, after being an honorable mention selection in 2017, second-team in 2018 and first-team and Player of the Year in 2019. The graduate student from Belfast, Northern Ireland finished the regular season with a 13-2 record at number-one singles for the Pioneers, including a 6-2 mark in conference matches. McCullough is the winningest singles player in program history, owning a career mark of 104-17.
Caitlin McCullough was selected All-Conference for the third time in singles, following her second-team selection in 2018 and her first-team honors in 2019. A graduate student from Belfast, Northern Ireland, she compiled a 10-5 record this season while playing primarily at flights three and four. McCullough, who finished the season with seven straight wins, went 6-2 in conference play and owns a career singles record of 56-24.
As a duo, the McCulloughs went 12-3 overall this season and finished with a 5-3 record in conference competition, including four straight wins to end the regular season. The pair were named first-team All-Conference for the third time, after finishing the season 16th in the latest ITA Division II doubles rankings. The duo, which earned ITA All-America honors in 2019-20, holds a career record of 74-17.
Hansen and Lackey each earned All-Conference accolades for the first time in their careers after teaming up for a 12-2 record at flight two doubles for the Pioneers this season. The pair won their final seven matches of the regular season, with their only two losses coming to Division I opponents from Western Carolina and ETSU. Hansen, a junior from Hvidovre, Denmark, and Lackey, a senior from Roswell, Georgia, are 15-7 all-time as a doubles pairing for the Pioneers.
Yana Fleyer of Queens was selected SAC Player of the Year, with Freshman of the Year honors going to Elena Gunfaus of Wingate. Coach of the Year was awarded to Michael Cabana of Wingate after he led the Bulldogs to their ninth SAC regular-season championship in the last 10 seasons.
Tusculum will begin play at the SAC Women's Tennis Championship tournament on Thursday at 9 a.m. against third-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne in the quarterfinals from the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, South Carolina. The semifinals will be played on Friday, with the championship match on Saturday.
2021 South Atlantic Conference Women's Tennis All-Conference
First Team Doubles
Sasha Davidzenka / Yana Fleyer, Queens
Annie McCullough / Caitlin McCullough, Tusculum
Elisa Aguirre / Judit Gonzalez Agud, Newberry
Second Team Doubles
Natasha Forrest / Hannah Price, Carson-Newman
Caity Klaassen / Viktorija Veselinova, Queens
Emilie Hansen / Amber Lackey, Tusculum
Honorable Mention Doubles
Anna Greer / Katie Robeson, Anderson
Amy Griffiths / Lucy Spice, Newberry
Carrigan Blanchard / Anya Tarlouskaya, Anderson
First Team Singles
Yana Fleyer, Queens
Ana Carla Resende, Carson-Newman
Annie McCullough, Tusculum
Gemma Southwick, Lenoir-Rhyne
Elena Bompieri, Wingate
Elena Gunfaus, Wingate
Second Team Singles
Sasha Davidzenka, Queens
Camilla Ciaccia, Wingate
Viktorija Veselinova, Queens
Judit Gonzalez Agud, Newberry
Anna Greer, Anderson
Valentina Ascarrunz, Lincoln Memorial
Honorable Mention Singles
Liza Akimenko, UVA Wise
Una Pandurevic, Catawba
Elisa Aguirre, Newberry
Sophia Marchetta, Limestone
Alicia Wahlberg, Lenoir-Rhyne
Caitlin McCullough, Tusculum
Player of the Year: Yana Fleyer, Queens
Freshman of the Year: Elena Gunfaus, Wingate
Coach of the Year: Michael Cabana, Wingate
