NEW YORK – The 2019 BIG EAST Women’s Tennis all-conference awards have been released. St. John’s junior Jessica Livianu has earned her third consecutive Player of the Year honor. Xavier’s Emily Thomas was chosen Freshman of the Year. DePaul won Coaching Staff of the Year under head coach Mark Ardizzone, who won the BIG EAST Championship crown as the No. 2 seed.
The Blue Demons led all teams with four All-BIG EAST selections, followed by BIG EAST Championship runners-up Xavier with three nods. Marquette and Seton Hall collected two apiece.
Livianu went undefeated at No. 1 singles overall this season at 17-0. She also tallied a doubles mark of 11-3 on the top court overall. All but one of her 17 wins was clinched in straight sets as fellow first-teamer, Xavier’s Ahmeir Kyle, pushed her to three sets. The junior led St. John’s to the No. 4 seed in the BIG EAST Championship and she won both of her singles matches at the top spot.
Thomas owned a 19-4 overall singles record this season, mostly on the No. 3 court. She also went 12-5 in doubles overall, mainly at No. 1. The freshman was 9-1 against BIG EAST opponents and lost her only match in three sets to second-team selection Alina Kuzmenkova of DePaul. She helped Xavier match a program-best 22 wins this season and secure the top seed in the BIG EAST Championship.
DePaul’s coaching staff, under the direction of 23-year head coach Mark Ardizzone, guided the Blue Demons to their fourth BIG EAST title in six years. They defeated top-seeded Xavier, 4-3, to earn the BIG EAST’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Demons were the Conference runners-up in 2016 and 2018. DePaul went 11-11 overall, 6-2 versus conference foes and 4-1 at home this season.
Along with Livianu on the all-conference first team are junior Aspasia Avgeri (DePaul), senior Keisha Clousing (DePaul), junior Fleur Eggink (Marquette), senior Sophia Abelson (Xavier) and sophomore Ahmeir Kyle (Xavier). All-BIG EAST Second Team selections include senior Ashley Ishimura (Creighton), sophomore Marija Jovicic (DePaul), sophomore Alina Kuzmenkova (DePaul), junior Milica Novakovic (Marquette), senior Anicka Fajnorova (Seton Hall), freshman Regina Pitts (Seton Hall) and freshman Emily Thomas (Xavier).
2019 BIG EAST Women’s Tennis Awards
Player of the Year: Jessica Livianu, St. John’s, Jr.
Freshman of the Year: Emily Thomas, Xavier
Coaching Staff of the Year: DePaul
All-BIG EAST First Team
Aspasia Avgeri, DePaul, Jr.
Keisha Clousing, DePaul, Sr.
Fleur Eggink, Marquette, Jr.
Jessica Livianu, St. John’s, Jr.
Sophia Abelson, Xavier, Sr.
Ahmeir Kyle, Xavier, So.
All-BIG EAST Second Team*
Ashley Ishimura, Creighton, Sr.
Marija Jovicic, DePaul, So.
Alina Kuzmenkova, DePaul, So.
Milica Novakovic, Marquette, Jr.
Anicka Fajnorova, Seton Hall, Sr.
Regina Pitts, Seton Hall, Fr.
Emily Thomas, Xavier, Fr.
*A tie in voting resulted in a seven-member Second Team