Lauren
Embree
(Marco Island, Fla.) was named the Southeastern Conference Women’s Tennis
Player of the Year for a record third time and was one of five members of the University
of Florida women’s tennis team who were recognized by the league coaches to
their All-SEC Teams. Roland Thornqvist was voted the league’s Coach of
the Year by his peers for the fourth time in his 11 years with the Gators.
Embree
is the first player in the 21-year history of the award to receive the SEC’s
top individual honor three times in a career. Embree also was voted the SEC
Player of the Year in 2012 and in 2010, when she became the first ever freshman
to collect the award.
“It’s
really special to me,” Embree shared. “I’ve never thought I’d be the first
player to win this award so many times because there are and have been so many
talented and great players in the SEC. I’m not really focused on awards. I just
try and come out every day and win for the team and for my teammates. It’s an
extra cool award to get and it’s something I want to thank my coaches and
teammates who have helped me.”
Last
year Embree joined Gator great Jill Craybas as the only two-time
recipients, as Craybas was honored in 1995 and 1996.
Embree
compiled a perfect 39-0 record during her dual match singles career against SEC
opponents in conference matches and helped the Gators win four consecutive
league regular-season and tournament championships.
“Lauren
deserves every award that you can give her,” praised Thornqvist, who this year
has led Florida to a 22-2 overall record, a share of the regular-season title
and the team’s fourth straight postseason championship. “The cool thing about
Lauren is that she’s obviously an outstanding tennis player, but she is a
tremendous team player. She not only plays for herself, but she plays primarily
for the team. She gives everything she has every day in practice and elevates
our whole team to new levels. I’m very pleased but not surprised that she’s
once again the SEC Player of the Year.”
A
Gator has been named the SEC Women’s Tennis Player of the Year nine times,
beginning with Lisa Raymond earning the honor in 1993, the debut of the
award. In addition to Embree, Raymond and Craybas, Jessica Lehnhoff
received the Player of the Year recognition in 2002, Alexis Gordon in
2004 and Allie Will in 2011.
Junior
Sofie Oyen (Leopoldsburg, Belgium) joined Embree on the All-SEC First
Team, with juniors Alexandra Cercone (Seminole, Fla.) and Olivia
Janowicz (Palm Bay, Fla.) and freshman Brianna Morgan (Beverly
Hills, Calif.) having earned a spot on the All-SEC Second Team.
Oyen
is a three-time First Team All-SEC honoree, while Cercone was voted the second
team for the third consecutive season. This is the second time on the
second-team for Janowicz, who was also selected during her freshman year and
was recently named the 2013 SEC Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Morgan,
who also earned a place on the All-SEC Freshman Team, posted a 7-1 singles
record in SEC matches during her rookie campaign.
Thornqvist
has been named the SEC Coach of the Year in 2004, 2006, 2010 and now in 2013.
