ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Tusculum University coach Matt Frost has been named the 2023 South Atlantic Conference Women's Tennis Coach of the Year after leading the Pioneers to the SAC Championship and the top seed in the SAC Tournament.
Five members of the Pioneer team received All-Conference honors in voting by the league's 13 head coaches, the SAC office announced Wednesday. Sophomore Leonie Floeth was a first-team selection in singles, while in doubles the teams of sophomore Tabitha Howe and junior Paulina Loretz along with the duo of sophomore Elodie Baechler and junior Valentina Loretz were each second-team choices.
The Pioneers finished 15-5 overall and 11-1 in conference play, winning the program's first conference title since 2019. Frost, in his second season as head coach, guided Tusculum to first place and a top 20 national ranking with a lineup that had two juniors, three sophomores and a freshman. Frost is 28-12 in two seasons as head women's coach for the Pioneers.
Floeth played number-one singles for the Pioneers during the entire 2023 season, compiling an overall record of 17-10, with a 12-8 record in dual matches and an 8-3 mark in SAC play. The Toenisvorst, Germany native won her last four matches of the regular season, and handed SAC Player of the Year Nastassia Chamoun of Newberry her only loss of the year on April 10 by a 6-4, 6-2 score. Floeth has a 32-24 record in two seasons with the Pioneers.
The pairing of Howe and Paulina Loretz played number one doubles for the Pioneers and had a 6-3 record in conference competition. Howe, a native of Sevenoaks, England, had a 14-12 overall doubles record for the Pioneers this season while Loretz, who hails from San Mateo Atenco, Mexico, was 13-8 in doubles action during the 2022-23 season.
Baechler and Valentina Loretz went 10-0 in conference play for the Pioneers, competing at both flights two and three. The duo went 12-2 during the season and carries their 10-match winning streak into the postseason. Baechler, who is a native of La Rippe, Switzerland, was 15-6 overall in doubles for the Pioneers while Loretz, also from San Mateo Atenco, Mexico, had a 17-4 doubles mark for the Pioneers.
Newberry swept the individual postseason awards as Sofia Cardenas was voted Freshman of the Year after going undefeated in conference play in singles.
The Pioneers will take on Carson-Newman in the quarterfinal round of the SAC Championship tournament on Thursday, April 20 beginning at 9 a.m. at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, South Carolina.
2023 SAC Women's Tennis All-Conference
First Team Doubles
Nastassia Chamoun/Zulay Castaneda, Newberry
Chloe Kosmrlj/Suzuka Sambyakugari, Wingate
Alicia Wahlberg/Lucy Whelan, Lenoir-Rhyne
Second Team Doubles
Elodie Baechler/Valentina Loretz, Tusculum
Natasha Forrest/Julia Speiser, Carson-Newman
Tabitha Howe/Paulina Loretz, Tusculum
Third Team Doubles
Saga Berggren/Gaya Solomon, Wingate
Carolina Correia/Sofia Hernandez, Catawba
Anamaria Kiszner-Luca/Monika Temkova, Limestone
First Team Singles
Zulay Castaneda, Newberry
Nastassia Chamoun, Newberry
Leonie Floeth, Tusculum
Elena Gunfaus, Wingate
Anamaria Kiszner-Luca, Limestone
Chloe Kosmrlj, Wingate
Second Team Singles
Jessica Binzari, Coker
Sofia Cardenas, Newberry
Natasha Forrest, Carson-Newman
Anna Greer, Anderson
Evgeniya Pugina, Lenoir-Rhyne
Suzuka Sambyakugari, Wingate
Third Team Singles
Miya Ami, Catawba
Fernanda Castillo, Wingate
Anita Chornei, Carson-Newman
Flaminia Guidantoni, Wingate
Elana Mackey, Mars Hill
Aina Miralles, Newberry
Player of the Year: Nastassia Chamoun, Newberry
Freshman of the Year: Sofia Cardenas, Newberry
Coach of the Year: Matt Frost, Tusculum
