Tennis Captures 2018 AAC Tournament Championship
The Brenau tennis team wrapped up its first year in the Appalachian Athletic Conference with both the regular season and conference tournament championship after a 5-0 victory over SCAD Atlanta on Sunday at the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Playing indoors due to rain, the Golden Tigers capped off a perfect record in conference play with a decisive win over the second-seeded Bees.
In doubles play, Brenau posted a clean sweep, winning all three matches to post an early 3-0 advantage. The #3 doubles team of Rebecca Pijls and Valentina Pabon defeated Madison Umbaugh and Giulianna Hull 8-5, while the #2 team of Paula Rives Palau and Patricia Recalde Pacua also outpaced Sofia Guerra and Antonella Altamirano 8-5.
At #1 doubles, Peeraya Charoensirisutthikul and Maya Mammetgulyyeva defeated Katrina De Guzman and Simran Kejriwal by an 8-5 margin to avenge the pairings' previous loss during the regular season.
Entering singles play with a 3-0 advantage, both Kirsten Dickins and Rives Palau each won their matches in straight sets to clinch the Golden Tigers' first AAC Tournament championship.
In addition to their regular season and tournament team performances, the squad also received numerous individual postseason honors, including winning all three major AAC women's tennis awards.
After posting an undefeated singles conference record in her inaugural season, Peeraya Charoensirisutthikul was named both AAC Player and Freshman of the Year.
The AAC coaches also selected head coach Andre Ferreira for guiding his team to a perfect 9-0 regular season record.
Joining Charoensirisutthikul on the All-Conference team were teammates Maya Mammetgulyyeva and Patricia Recalde Pacua. Mammetgulyyeva, a senior from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan and Recalde Pacua, a senior from Asuncion, Paraguay, were both instrumental in helping the team capture the regular season championship. Additionally freshman Valentina Pabon received All-Freshman honors for her play during her first season as a Golden Tiger.
Brenau now looks forward to competing at the 38th Annual Women's Tennis National Championships on May 15-19 at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Alabama.