IRVINE, Calif. – The Big West announced its Women's Tennis all-conference honors on Thursday, with the Gauchos naturally well-represented as the conference's champion. Senior
Amelia Honer was named Big West Player of the Year for the third consecutive time and head coach
Simon Thibodeau earned his third career Big West Coach of the Year award.
Thibodeau has led UC Santa Barbara Women's Tennis to be undoubtedly the top program in the Big West. In eight of the last nine completed seasons, the Gauchos have won either or both of a Big West regular season and/or Big West tournament championship under Thibodeau's guidance. This year, they did both, resulting in his third Coach of the Year award in the past five seasons.
For Honer, the Player of the Year honor comes as no surprise, either. Currently the 16th-ranked player in the country, she compiled a 16-2 overall record at the top of the Gauchos lineup with wins over opponents ranked 6th, 34th, 59th, and 73rd. Of the 16 wins, 13 of them came in straight sets.
Honer and
Ali Benedetto were named to the All-Big West First Team for their doubles play. After spending time in both the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, Benedetto jumped up to pair with Honer on court one to end the year. They did not disappoint, as the duo won all three of their completed matches together. Benedetto finished with a 9-9 overall doubles record—5-2 in conference play—while Honer was 11-3 and 4-1, respectively. Honer and
Marie Weissheim come into the NCAA Tournament as the only ranked Big West doubles pair at No. 42.
Speaking of Weissheim, the sophomore made the Second Team for her singles play. Playing the majority of matches in the No. 2 position, she was 11-9 overall with a 5-1 Big West record, beating opponents ranked 26th, 87th, and 95th.
Freshman
Raphaelle Leroux was named an Honorable Mention for both Singles and Doubles. In singles, the Canadian spent time at every position except No. 1, with the majority in the No. 4 spot where she had a 9-1 record. She has been absolutely dominant since the beginning of March, currently on a 14-match winning streak with all of them coming in straight sets, naturally amounting to an 8-0 conference record.
As alluded to, Leroux and Weissheim both were selected as Honorable Mention Doubles players. Between courts two and three, the duo played the final 10 matches together and had a six-match winning streak at one point. Leroux finished 6-2 in Big West doubles matches while Weissheim was 11-5 overall and 5-2 in conference play. Again, Weissheim is ranked 42nd in doubles play with Honer, the only ranked doubles team in the Big West.
The Gauchos look ahead to their NCAA Tournament first round matchup against No. 39 Rice on Friday. Hosted at Texas A&M's Mitchell Tennis Center, the Gauchos and Owls are set to play at 9 a.m. Pacific Time.
