Atlantic Sun Conference

ATLANTA - With the 38th season of ASUN Conference Women's Tennis in the books, we look back at the highlights and successes of the 13 league squads following the 2022-23 season. North Florida claimed the regular-season title with a 7-1 conference record. Kit Gulihur represented UNF with an ITA Individual ranking at No. 86 on May 4.

North Florida avenged a conference loss to the Hatters in the ASUN Championship Final to earn the Ospreys' 10th championship title. Gulihur, the ASUN Player of the Year and Tournament MVP capped off another stellar performance in the postseason with a 6-1, 6-4 positive outcome at the top spot for a 2-0 lead in the ASUN Championship Final. Annabelle Davis was able to break the 2-2 tie with a three-set decision before all eyes then shifted to the sixth slot, where Jasmin Makela clinched Championship Point with a 7-5, 6-3 final. 

ASUN Championship Runner-Up, Stetson, defeated nationally ranked FGCU in the semifinal round to reach its 11th ASUN Championship Final. The Hatters enjoyed a 20-win season and went 6-2 in league matches for the tournament's second seed. Stetson was led by Noa Cohen who collected All-Tournament honors at the championship event. Three Hatters were named ASUN Third Team selections as each collected more than 10 wins. Stetson accepted an invitation to the first-ever NIT Championship where it finished as runner-up.

Gulihur claimed her third consecutive Scholar-Athlete of the Year and second consecutive ASUN Player of the Year honor this season while also earning the NCAA Elite 90 honor at the NCAA Championship, given to the highest GPA among participants of the championship event. The Ospreys' top student-athlete was also selected in the ASUN Doubles Pair of the Year, for the second season, with teammate Ana Paula Melilo.

Austin Peay Governors (16-7, 6-2 ASUN)
- In the Govs' first season in the conference, APSU finished the conference slate 6-2 and 16-7 overall; APSU went on a seven-match winning streak in the regular season
- Sophia Branov led the Govs in Singles play with a 17-2 (7-1 ASUN) record with 12 of her wins coming from the No. 4 position; the No. 1 position led APSU in Doubles competition, holding a 14-5 record
- Austin Peay had three members named to the ASUN All-Conference Team as Jana Leder was the lone APSU member to be named to the First Team; Leder's Doubles partner Melody Hefti was named to the All-Freshman Team

Bellarmine Knights (4-21, 1-7 ASUN)
- Bellarmine earned its first ASUN Conference win against Queens in a 4-1 win over the Royals; Shu Grosso secured the team win with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Kelsey Sinclaire at No. 5 Singles
- Lailaa Bashir earned Bellarmine's first ASUN Player of the Week honor after defeating Kentucky's Ellie Eades at No. 2 Singles in a 7-5, 6-0 victory - her first career win versus a Power Five opponent
- The Knights' No. 1 Doubles pair of Ekaterina Tikhonko and Vendula Kryslova led Bellarmine in Doubles play with a 7-6 record while Bashir led in Singles action with a 7-7 record

Central Arkansas Bears (12-10, 4-4 ASUN)
- The Bears finished the season at 12-10 with a 4-4 ASUN record with conference wins over North Alabama, EKU, Bellarmine and Lipscomb; UCA completed its second season in the ASUN and its seventh consecutive conference season with a win percentage of .500 or higher
- Central Arkansas ended the regular season on a 4-1 slate to earn the Bears an eighth seed in the ASUN Championship and defeated Lipscomb for their first ASUN postseason win
- Freshman duo of Nanoka Kazama and Vichitraporn Vimuktananda earned a win and clinched the Doubles point for the Bears, taking down UNF's nationally ranked Doubles pair of Kit Gulihur and Ana Paula Melilo during the ASUN Championship

EKU Colonels (5-19, 1-7 ASUN)
- In the Colonels' first season since 2018, EKU finished the 2023 slate with a 5-19 record and a 1-7 record in ASUN Conference play; EKU earned its first win of the season against Campbellsville, 4-3, on Jan. 19
- Masha Fedenko led the Colonels and was selected to the ASUN All-Freshman Team as she had a team-high eight wins and posted a 6-11 Doubles mark from the No. 1 position
- EKU won three consecutive matches from Feb. 11-18 against Presbyterian (4-3), Southern Indiana (5-2) and Tennessee State (5-2); two of the three matches took place on the road

FGCU Eagles (16-7, 6-2 ASUN)
- The Eagles earned their first 15-win season since the 2001-02 stint; FGCU entered the ASUN Championship as the third seed after ending the regular season on a five-match win streak against conference opponents
- Fanny Norin earned her third consecutive ASUN All-Conference honor as she registered a 13-6 Singles record and 5-2 mark in league action this season, including victories over St. John's, MTSU, Army, FAU, Mercer, Toledo, Cincinnati, UCA, UNF, Bellarmine, Lipscomb, and Liberty
- Alba Retortillo earned FGCU's lone point against Stetson during the Eagles' semifinal appearance, winning 6-2, 6-3 from the No. 6 slot; Retortillo was 7-1 in Singles action ending the season on a seven-match win streak and an eight-match win streak in Doubles

Jax State Gamecocks (15-8, 4-4 ASUN)
- Serafima Shastova was named ASUN Freshman of the Year, the first honor for Jax State in program history while also earning First Team All-Conference and All-Freshman honors; Shastova collected 12 solo wins from the No. 1 position and seven Doubles victories 
- Jax State had two five-match win streaks throughout the regular season; the Gamecocks posted a 15-8 overall record, the first time the program has reached 15 wins since the 2012-13 season
- The Gamecocks made their first appearance in the ASUN Championship since 2003; Jax State swept North Alabama in the first round as Shastova clinched the win in the top flight (6-4, 6-2)

Kennesaw State Owls (11-7, 5-3 ASUN)
- The Owls ended conference action on a 4-0 win streak, defeating UNA, Jax State, Bellarmine and EKU; KSU's overall record was 11-7, which was just the second time since the 2011-12 season that the program has earned more than 10 wins
- Sophia Madrid and Sophia Pinedo led the Owls in Doubles action with a 4-1 record with all wins coming in at the No.3 position; three Owls had nine wins in Singles play (Ji Youn Lee, Sophia Madrid, Sophia Unger)
- Ji Youn Lee was named to the ASUN All-Conference Third Team while teammate Sofia Madrid was named to the All-Freshman Team

Liberty Flames (17-9, 6-2 ASUN)
- Four Flames finished with more than 10 wins this season as Esther Lovato led the way with 18 individual wins while teammates Maria Juliana Parra Romero (16), Tiffany Nguyen (15) and Marina Davtyan (14) all contributed to Liberty's 17-win year
- Liberty earned a program-best No. 66 national ranking in the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, the second all-time ranking and first in nearly nine years; the No. 1 Doubles duo for Liberty at one point earned a No. 90 national ranking and was 13-1 playing together
- The Flames featured a program record of all-conference players in the 2023 ASUN Conference postseason awards, highlighted by Parra Romero being selected to the ASUN All-Conference First Team for the second consecutive year

Lipscomb Bisons (9-12, 4-4 ASUN)
- Lipscomb earned its first-ever win over a ranked opponent when the Bisons defeated No. 73 Liberty, 4-3; the win was also the first time Lipscomb had beaten Liberty in program history
- Sasha Dobranos earned a Player of the Week nod (March 22) after earning her 11th win in Singles play against 2022 ASUN Freshman of the Year Maria Juliana Parra Romero
- Sofia Paladi was named to the All-Freshman Team with her 10 wins in Singles; Dobranos was named as a First Team selection as she ended the season with a 15-5 Singles record

North Alabama Lions (7-15, 2-6 ASUN)
- The Lions went 7-15 under first-year Head Coach Olaya Garrido-Rivas as her first win came on Jan. 28 against Nicholls, 5-2; UNA earned two conference wins against Bellarmine and league newcomer Queens
- Kalais Going led the Lions with 10 wins under her belt in Singles play with six of those wins coming in sweeps; Going went on a seven-match win streak from Feb. 25 to March 16, defeating opponents from UCA and Bellarmine to name a few
- In North Alabama's second appearance in the ASUN Championship, the Lions were able to extend the match against Jax State as the No. 3 and No. 4 Courts forced a third set but ultimately fell short to conclude UNA's postseason run

North Florida Ospreys (18-7, 7-1 ASUN)
- The Ospreys were 18-7 and 7-1 in league play this season, riding a 10-match winning streak with the last loss coming March 17; North Florida defeated Central Arkansas, Liberty and defending-ASUN Champion, Stetson, en route to the 10th ASUN Championship in program history to earn its seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament in eight seasons (10th in its DI era)
- Reigning ASUN Player of the Year, Kit Gulihur, earned a plethora of awards this season for her 22-1 (Singles) and 18-2 (Doubles) performance including earning back-to-back NCAA Elite 90 Honors, CSC Academic All-District Honors, ASUN All-Tournament MVP, ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year, ASUN Doubles Pair of the Year and ASUN All-Conference First Team 
- North Florida raked in the postseason awards as the Ospreys earned three superlative awards in Coach of the Year (Catherine Dunagan), Doubles Pair of the Year (Gulihur & Ana Paula Melilo) and Player of the Year (Gulihur); UNF athletes were represented throughout the ASUN All-Conference First Team (Gulihur), Second Team (Anabelle Davis), Third Team (Isabel Oliveira) and All-Freshman Team (Jasmin Makela)

Queens Royals (5-18, 0-8 ASUN)
- In Queens' first year in the ASUN Conference, the Royals earned their first win as a Division I program on Feb. 19 against Johnson C. Smith in a sweep of the Golden Bulls, 7-0
- Hannah Axelsson was named to the ASUN All-Academic Team and was joined by teammates Amelie Allard, Kelsey Sinclaire and Nyanyuie Grace Tomegah to the CSC Academic All-District
- During the Royals' first-round matchup against APSU in the ASUN Championship, Courts 2, 4 and 5 all pushed a third set before falling to the Governors

Stetson Hatters (20-9, 6-2 ASUN)
- Anais Gabriel (Second), Alanna DiFrancesco (Third) and Cheri Darley (Third) all made ASUN All-Conference teams after their performance in the 2023 ASUN regular season with Gabriel and DiFrancesco going undefeated in Doubles during conference play with their respective partners
- The Hatters advanced to their 11th ASUN Championship Final appearance after defeating Jax State, Kennesaw State and nationally ranked FGCU; Stetson fell short in the title match, ending its chances at a repeat championship
- Stetson was selected to play in the first-ever NIT Championship where the Hatters defeated CSUN and Colorado State before earning a runner-up finish to No. 45 TCU; the Hatters finished the season with the program's second-most wins (20) all-time