NEW HAVEN, Conn. - - Heading into the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament, the top seeded and CACC Regular Season Champion Wilmington University women's tennis team had four student-athletes be named All-Conference, including head coach Troy Donato being named CACC Coach of the Year.
It is the third year in a row that Troy Donato has been voted CACC Coach of the Year, leading the Wildcats to its third straight CACC Regular Season title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming CACC Tournament.
It is also the third year in a row that Jess Purdy and Valentina Ivankovic have been voted All-CACC with Jess Purdy making the jump to First Team status this year. Ivankovic, along with teammates Kushi Khandoji and Marley Trifunovic, were voted Second Team All-CACC by the league's head coaches.
Jess Purdy went 5-3 in singles and 8-1 in doubles competition this fall to earn First Team All-CACC. She went 2-2 at No. 1 singles and 3-1 at the No. 2 slot. She had singles wins at No. 1 over Post and Chestnut Hill, and singles wins at No. 2 over Chestnut Hill, Goldey-Beacom, and Dominican. In doubles, she teamed up with Fenna Swaan to go 2-0 at No. 1, Larize Nel to go 3-0 overall, Gloria Barcaro to go 2-0, and Valentina Ivankovic for a match at No. 1 for a win.
Valentina Ivankovic was a Second Team All-CACC performer in 2021, and a First Team performer last season. She went 7-2 in singles and 4-3 in doubles this fall to earn Second Team All-CACC. She won at No. 1 singles over Goldey-Beacom, going 1-1 overall at No. 1. She also went 2-0 at No. 2, 2-1 at No. 3, and 2-0 at No. 4 for this season. She's played the blk of her doubles at No. 1, going 3-2 overall, 2-1 with Fenna Swaan.
Kushi Khandoji came to Wilmington this fall and jumped to the top of the lineup, going 5-3 overall in singles and 6-1 in doubles. She went 3-1 at No. 1 singles and 2-2 at No. 2. She defeated CACC Player of the Year Bipasha Mehn at No. 1 in the regular season finale at Dominican. She won her final six doubles matches, going 2-1 at No. 1 doubles this year, 2-0 at No. 2, and 2-0 at No. 3.
Marley Trifunovic earned All-CACC for the first time in her career, going 7-1 in singles competition and a perfect 7-0 in doubles matches. She went 3-0 at No. 4 singles while also going 2-1 at No. 5, and 1-0 at No. 6. In doubles, she went 3-0 at No. 2 and 4-0 at No. 3. She teamed up with Alva Norberg to go 5-0 this fall, 3-0 at No. 2 and 2-0 at No. 3.
The Wildcats went 9-1 in the CACC this fall. They will play fourth seeded Post in the first CACC Semifinal on Friday morning at the Delcastle Tennis Center. The first serve against Post is set for 10:00 a.m.
2023 CACC Women's Tennis Player of the Year:
Bipasha Mehn (Dominican University)
2023 CACC Women's Tennis Rookies of the Year:
Elena Arenas Guisasola (Chestnut Hill College)
Nahomi Quinonez (Goldey-Beacom College)
2023 CACC Women's Tennis Coach of the Year:
Troy Donato (Wilmington University)
2023 CACC Women's Tennis Team Sportsmanship Award:
Dominican University
2023 CACC Women's Tennis All-Conference Teams
First Team:
Annunciata De-Souza (Post University)
Charly Egger (Thomas Jefferson University)
Noelle Frenzel (Thomas Jefferson University)
Nicole Hrbkova (Thomas Jefferson University)
Bipasha Mehn (Dominican University)
Jessica Purdy (Wilmington University)
Second Team:
Alison Isaac (Chestnut Hill College)
Valentina Ivankovic (Wilmington University)
Kushi Khandoji (Wilmington University)
Romi Meirovich (Chestnut Hill College)
Elizabeth Mova (Goldey-Beacom College)
Marleyna Trifunovic (Wilmington University)
2023 CACC Women's Tennis Player of the Year: Bipasha Mehn (Dominican University)
2023 CACC Women's Tennis Rookies of the Year: Elena Arenas Guisasola (Chestnut Hill College), Nahomi Quinonez (Goldey-Beacom College)
2023 CACC Women's Tennis Coach of the Year: Troy Donato (Wilmington University)
2023 CACC Women's Tennis Team Sportsmanship Award: Dominican University