Men's Tennis | 4/12/2018 10:01:00 AM

Kilumets Repeats as SWAC Player of the Year; Maier, Stojanovski Earn All-Conference

LORMAN, Miss. – Having never lost a SWAC singles match in his two-year career at Alcorn, senior Kert Kilumets from the men's tennis program was honored as the SWAC Player of the Year for the second straight season, announced Thursday by the league office.
 
Kilumets becomes the first back-to-back SWAC Player of the Year winner at Alcorn for any sport since Steve McNair (football) in 1991-94.
 
"Kert is the best player we've ever had in my 21 years here at Alcorn," said head coach Anthony Dodgen. "He's a war-horse and could play for a lot of high-end Division I schools. We've been extremely fortunate to have him here the last two years and he's also a tremendous leader."
 
Kilumets was joined on the men's All-Conference Team by freshman Stojan Stojanovski. For the women, junior Marlene Maier earned All-Conference nods.
 
"Stojan and Marlene are certainly deserving and I'm proud that they've been recognized," Dodgen said. "Our kids have had to fight through a lot of adversity this season and have really worked hard."
 
Kilumets was a perfect 5-0 in SWAC singles competition at the No. 1 position for the second consecutive year. He's 24-16 overall in his career at Alcorn and 8-2 in his last 10 matches.
 
Stojanovski also turned in an impressive season for the Braves at No. 2 singles. He was 4-2 in conference and 7-7 overall on the year. In doubles, Kilumets and Stojanovski partnered together at the top spot and were 3-0 against SWAC opponents.
 
The Lady Braves have been paced by Maier all season. She was a flawless 8-0 in SWAC singles matches at the No. 5 spot, and 10-3 overall on the year. It came after she was undefeated in conference at No. 6 singles last season.
 
Maier adds to her collection of awards after being named the 2016 SWAC Tournament MVP and to the 2016 SWAC All-Tournament Team. She was a part of the 2016 squad the won the SWAC Championship.
 
The announcement comes a day before the 2018 SWAC Championships. The fifth-seeded women's team will open against Southern at 9 a.m. in the quarterfinals Friday, and the fourth-seeded men will take on Alabama A&M that same day at 1 p.m. at the Pepsi Tennis Center.
 
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