NEW YORK - Following an impressive rookie season, St. John’s Jessica Livianu was named both the BIG EAST Women’s Tennis Player and Freshman of the Year, while DePaul, led by head coach Mark Ardizzone, collected BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
Livianu was also named to the 12-member All-BIG EAST Team. The major awards and All-BIG EAST Team were voted on by the league’s 10 head coaches who could not cast ballots for themselves or their own student-athletes.
Making history for the Red Storm, Livianu enjoyed an incredible 40-2 mark in match play this spring, including an 18-2 record in singles action while going a perfect 22-0 in doubles play.
The freshman appeared in the Oracle/ITA National Singles Rankings throughout the entire spring campaign and reached another program milestone in the fall when she became the first student-athlete in program history to compete at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships.
Livianu is one of 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams that will compete in the 2017 NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championships as selected by the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Subcommittee.
Ardizzone led the Blue Demons to a 17-7 overall record and the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Championship presented by Jeep, where they upset top-seeded St. John’s in the final match, 4-3.The win marked DePaul's third BIG EAST tournament title in the last four years and gave the Blue Demons the league’s automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Championship, where they will face off with Auburn on May 12.
The full 12 member all-conference team is below.
BIG EAST Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year
Jessica Livianu, St. John’s
BIG EAST Coach Staff of the Year
Mark Ardizzone, DePaul
2017 Women’s Tennis All-BIG EAST Team
Silvia Ambrosio, Marquette, So.
Keisha Clousing, DePaul, Jr.
Jessica Livianu, St. John’s, Fr.
Yuliya Shupenia, DePaul, Sr.
Risa Nakagawa, Georgetown, So.
Anicka Fajnorova, Seton Hall, So.
Anna Morozova, St. John’s, Sr.
Cristina Di Lorenzo, Xavier, Sr.
Patricia Lancranjan, DePaul, Jr.
Victoria Saperstein, Georgetown, Sr.
Sydney Liggins, Xavier, Sr.
Paula Tormos Sanchez, Marquette, Jr.