Women's Tennis: Award Winners Announced
May 01, 2006 02:47 PM | General
April 1, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia University women's tennis coach Dan Silverstein today announced the 2005-06 individual award winners.
Junior Ashley Constantine took home two awards. The Binghamton, N.Y., native's first was the Jane Little Memorial Award, given each year to a team member who best exemplifies the qualities of sportsmanship and team spirit. Constantine was also the recipient of the Most Improved Award which is awarded by the coaches to the player they think exhibited the greatest improvement from the previous year.
Sophomore Stacey Percival took home the Outstanding Athlete Award after posting a team-best 27-25 record this past season. Coupled with her team-best 26-10 record from the 2005 season, the Aiken, S.C., resident now owns a career record of 53-25.
Sophomore Natalia Prinz picked up her second straight Martha T. Thorn Award. Established in 1997, this award is given by the coaching staff to a team member in recognition of exceptional individual commitment and to the player who best exemplifies effort, dedication and consistency.
The Coaches Award was given to seniors Catherine Koontz and Raynie Theis for their outstanding contributions to the team. The duo won 50 team matches during their four years at West Virginia, marking the first time a group had 50 or more wins since the 1987-1990 team members.
Junior Kelly Walsh was named WVU BIG EAST tournament MVP for her efforts. The Chalfont, St. Giles, England, native went undefeated in singles play during the tournament with a 2-0 record posting big wins over Seton Hall and Syracuse. She teamed up with Theis to go 2-2 in doubles action.
"I am so proud of the way these young ladies turned our season around winning eight of our last 10 and defeating Syracuse for the first time in school history," Silverstein said. "This is a special group and I am lucky to be their coach." West Virginia finished the season at 10-11, finishing sixth at the BIG EAST tournament.
