Kilumets Named SWAC Player of the Year, Vaganova Tabbed Freshman of the Year
Men's Tennis |

Kilumets Named SWAC Player of the Year, Vaganova Tabbed Freshman of the Year

2017 SWAC Championship Central | Men's Bracket | Women's Bracket

NEW ORLEANS – Junior Kert Kilumets from the Alcorn State University men's tennis program was voted the SWAC Player of the Year, while freshman Anastasia Vaganova from the women's team was selected Freshman of the Year, the league office announced Thursday.
 
Additionally, senior Nischay Rawal earned All-Conference First-Team honors at No. 4 singles, and freshman Ivan Matas was All-Conference Second-Team at No. 5 singles.
 
Kilumets, from Kuressaare, Estonia, had a breakout season for the Braves after compiling at 13-8 record and a perfect 5-0 in conference. He was 5-4 at No. 1 singles and 8-2 at No. 2. Kilumets partnered with senior Nikita Kostikov at No. 1 doubles.
 
Vaganova, a native of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, notched a 10-6 overall record with a 5-1 mark in conference. She was 8-3 at the No. 5 singles spot. In doubles, Vaganova teamed with sophomore Bianca Birkenstock and the duo went 9-5 at the No. 2 slot.
 
Rawal posted a 9-7 mark at No. 4 singles and was 4-0 in conference. In doubles, he teamed with sophomore Nuno Rocha to go 4-1 in league play.
 
Matas was 3-1 in the league at No. 5 singles. He also won a pair of doubles matches in conference with fellow freshman Suyash Gupta.
 
The third-seeded Braves (7-20, 4-2 SWAC) will face fifth-seeded Arkansas-Pine Bluff (4-21, 2-4 SWAC) at 1 p.m. Friday. With a win, they would battle second-seeded Jackson State (6-19, 7-13 SWAC) at 1 p.m. Saturday. The finals is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday.
 
On the women's side, the fourth-seeded Lady Braves (9-16, 5-3 SWAC) are the reigning conference champions. Their quest to repeat will begin at 9 a.m. Friday when they take on sixth-seeded Grambling State (3-13, 3-5 SWAC) in the quarterfinals.
 
If Alcorn advances, it would square off against top-seeded Alabama State (11-9, 8-0 SWAC) in the semifinals at 9 a.m. Saturday. The finals is slated for 9 a.m. Sunday.
 
Alcorn head coach Anthony Dodgen, who is in his 20th season at the helm, has coached the program to eight men's titles and four women's.
 
MEN'S TENNIS
Player of the Year
Kert Kilumets, Alcorn State
 
Freshman of the Year
Xavier Lawrence, Prairie View A&M
 
All-Conference First-Team
No. 1 Andrey Alawi, Jackson State
No. 2 Ion Efrim, Alabama State / Kert Kilumets, Alcorn State
No. 3 Fritz Jacobs, Jackson State
No. 4 Nischay Rawal, Alcorn State
No. 5 Stylianos Gkontsans, Jackson State
No. 6 Vishu Prasad, Jackson State
 
All-Conference Second-Team
No. 1 Nishangan Nadaraja, Alabama A&M
No. 2 Ulrick Boyogueno, Prairie View A&M
No. 3 Sergio Avella, Prairie View A&M
No. 4 Aravind Vangala, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
No. 5 Ivan Matas, Alcorn State
No. 6 Zach Suico, Prairie View A&M
 
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Player of the Year
Tyler Smith, Jackson State
 
Freshman of the Year
Anastasia Vaganova, Alcorn State
 
All-Conference First-Team
No. 1 Tyler Smith, Jackson State
No. 2 Marine Cartier, Alabama State
No. 3 Sydney Thomas, Prairie View A&M
No. 4 Shaddae Finley, Prairie View A&M
No. 5 Anastasia Vaganova, Alcorn State
No. 6 Danna Galeano, Grambling State
 
All-Conference Second-Team
No. 1 Reka Szentes, Alabama State
No. 2 Darnesha Moore, Southern
No. 3 Amirah Ali, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
No. 4 Tanaka Chakanyuka, Southern
No. 5 Nicki Neal, Southern
No. 6 Dasha Butanna, Jackson State
 
#FearTheBrave
 
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