SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Samford University’s Stephanie N’tcha has been named the 2015 Southern Conference Women’s Tennis Player of the Year as the league announced its postseason awards Wednesday (April 22). Chattanooga’s Samantha Caswell was tabbed the Freshman of the Year, while Samford head coach David Vest took home the league’s Coach of the Year honor. ETSU’s Jessica Brumit earned the Sportsmanship Award. Postseason balloting was conducted by the league’s head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes.

N’tcha finished the regular season with a 14-6 mark in singles play. Competing at No. 1 singles for the Bulldogs, she was a perfect 7-0 in conference matches and was twice named the league’s Player of the Week. Paired with Carita Moolman for most of the year at No. 1 doubles, N’tcha helped the Bulldogs’ top tandem go 13-5, including a 6-1 mark in SoCon doubles matches. She becomes the first Bulldog to be named the Southern Conference Player of the Year.

Vest was named the Coach of the Year by his peers after guiding the Bulldogs to a 13-8 record in the regular season. Samford went 7-0 in conference play to earn the top seed in this week’s Southern Conference Championship and its first regular-season championship since joining the league. Six of his players earned postseason awards this season.

Caswell went 15-5 during the spring for UTC, including a 5-1 mark at No. 4 singles during league play. The Lookout Mountain, Ga., native spent the entire year at No. 1 doubles with Kayla Jones, and the tandem finished the spring season with a 16-3 mark.

Brumit was named the recipient of the league’s Sportsmanship Award and becomes the first Buc to win the award since Kristy Wagner in 1996. The senior from Elizabethton, Tenn., has competed primarily at No. 5 for ETSU.

In addition to the Player of the Year honors, N’tcha was named to the all-conference first team. She was joined by ETSU’s Lyn Yee Choo and Regina Nychytailova, Furman’s Ansley Speaks and Alex Moreno-Kaste, and Chattanooga’s Jones. Jones, N’tcha and Speaks were named first-team all-conference for the second straight year.

ETSU’s Choo and Ana Gerbasi were named first-team all-conference in doubles play, along with Furman’s Speaks and Moreno-Kaste. N’tcha and Moolman of Samford were also selected for the first team.

The second-team all-conference selections are awarded based on position. UNCG’s Kayla Gammie was chosen at No. 1 singles, while Samford’s Yasmeen Ebada earned the nod at the No. 2 position. Samford’s Jessica Northcutt was selected at No. 3, while her teammate Moolman, was tabbed at No. 4. Furman freshman Harper Caswell earned the fifth position, while Samford’s Savannah Wood was chosen at No. 6.

Chattanooga’s Caswell and Jones were tabbed second-team all-conference at No. 1 doubles. Samford’s Ebada and Northcutt were selected at the No. 2 spot, while ETSU’s Melissa Esguerra and Ioanna Markesini earned the No. 3 position.

ETSU placed two on the all-freshman team, as Esguerra and Markesini joined UTC’s Caswell. Furman’s Caswell, Samford’s Wood and Wofford’s Samantha Russell rounded out the all-freshman squad for 2015.

The 2015 Southern Conference Women’s Tennis Championships begin Friday in Greenville, S.C.

2015 SoCon Women’s Tennis Postseason Awards

First Team
Singles
Lyn Yee Choo, ETSU
Regina Nychytailova, ETSU
Ansley Speaks, Furman
Alex Moreno-Kaste, Furman
Stephanie N’tcha, Samford
Kayla Jones, Chattanooga

Doubles
Lyn Yee Choo/Ana Gerbasi, ETSU
Ansley Speaks/Alex Moreno-Kaste, Furman
Stephanie N’tcha/Carita Moolman, Samford

Second Team
Singles (by position)
No. 1 – Kayla Gammie, UNCG
No. 2 – Yasmeen Ebada, Samford
No. 3 – Jessica Northcutt, Samford
No. 4 – Carita Moolman, Samford
No. 5 – Harper Caswell, Furman
No. 6 – Savannah Wood, Samford

Doubles (by position)
No. 1 – Samantha Caswell/Kayla Jones, UTC
No. 2 – Yasmeen Ebada/Jessica Northcutt, Samford
No. 3 – Melissa Esguerra/Ioanna Markesini, ETSU