University of Florida sophomore Allie Will (Boca Raton, Fla.) was voted the Southeastern Conference Women’s Tennis Player of the Year and five other Gators were recognized by the league’s coaches in the yearly honors announced the SEC office on Tuesday.
Sophomore Lauren Embree (Marco Island, Fla.) and freshman Sofie Oyen (Leopoldsburg, Belgium) joined Will on the 12-player All-SEC First Team, while junior Joanna Mather (Duluth, Ga.), freshman Olivia Janowicz (Palm Bay, Fla.) and freshman Alex Cercone (Seminole, Fla.) were named to the All-SEC Second Team.
Will’s selection as the 2011 SEC Player of the Year is the eighth time the league’s top honor was bestowed upon a Gator, as she joins Embree, who was voted last season as the first-ever freshman named SEC Player of the Year, as well as Jill Craybas (1995, 1996), Alexis Gordon (2004), Jessica Lehnhoff (2002), Divya Merchant (1994) and Lisa Raymond (1993).
Will is coming off a stellar performance at last weekend’s SEC Tournament, where she was named the event’s Most Valuable Performer and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, while helping the Gators (25-1) capture the championship. She has compiled a 29-3 singles record this year, including a 20-1 dual match mark (9-0 in SEC) playing the number one and two positions in the lineup.
Embree is undefeated in dual match singles and doubles play this year, posting a 20-0 record in both, with a 9-0 singles record in SEC action and a 10-0 spot in league doubles play. Embree missed the majority of the fall season, when she was rehabilitating her left wrist (ruptured tendon) that required two surgeries (in June 2010 and in late October 2010).
Oyen compiled a 9-0 SEC singles record during her rookie campaign, as well as a 7-2 doubles record. Oyen was recognized as the SEC Freshman of the Week on April 12 when she helped Florida secure the SEC regular-season championship with victories against Georgia and Tennessee.
Mather is 27-7 overall in singles and 13-2 in dual matches in addition to compiling a doubles record of 26-7, 19-2 in dual matches with a 7-0 record in clinching doubles-point matches. She was named the SEC Player of the Week on Feb. 23 after she helped the Gators reach the final of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
Cercone was a three-time SEC Freshman of the Week honoree (March 8, 29 and April 5) and is tied with a team-best 32 singles wins. On the singles court, the rookie is 32-10 overall, with an 18-3 mark in team competition, 10-1 in SEC matches. In doubles, Cercone posted a 25-6 record, with a 19-1 dual match ledger, winning all seven she played during the SEC regular season.
Janowicz earned a spot on the SEC All-Tournament Team as the only Gator to finish and win all three matches, while winning a pair on the doubles court en route to helping Florida capture the league’s postseason title. She was honored as the SEC Freshman of the Week on Feb. 16 and holds a 32-7 overall singles record, with a 19-3 mark in dual matches (10-0 in SEC play), as well as an 18-7 doubles record, including a 13-4 spot in dual match competition.
Oyen, Cercone and Janowicz also were selected to the six-player All-SEC Freshman Team.
A four-way tie for the final spot on second team pushed the team to a total of 14 members.
