SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Furman’s Katarina Kozarov has been named the 2021 Southern Conference Women’s Tennis Player of the Year, as announced by the league on Thursday. ETSU’s Ricky Rojas was named the league’s Coach of the Year, while the Bucs’ Maria Fernanda Carvajal was tabbed the Freshman of the Year. Wofford’s Jenna Vroman 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.
 
Kozarov took home player of the year honors for the third straight year after helping Furman to a 19-6 record, a 7-0 mark in league play and a current national ranking of 31st. A Furman player has won the award each of the last five years and six of the last seven. The senior was also named to the all-conference first team for the third straight season after finishing the season 20-1 overall and a perfect 7-0 in conference play at the No. 1 singles spot. The Novi Sad, Serbia, native also posted a 17-4 overall record in doubles play, 17-3 with Julia Adams, including a 5-1 mark with Adams in conference play, and earned first team all-conference honors in doubles for the second straight season. The duo is ranked 34th nationally, while Kozarov is ranked 17^th in singles play and Adams, a first-team all-conference performer for the second straight season, is ranked 82nd.
 
Kozarov becomes the fourth player in league history to be named SoCon Player of the Year three times in a career and is the third player to win the honor three consecutive seasons. The selections of Adams and Kozarov to the first team marks the sixth consecutive year the Paladins have had two representatives earn first-team honors.
 
Rojas coached ETSU to an 12-9 record and 6-1 mark in conference play, as the Bucs fell only to Furman, the top seed in the Southern Conference Women’s Tennis Championship. His squad has won 16 of it’s last 18 conference contests dating back to 2018. The Bucs earned the No. 2 seed in this SoCon and placed two players on the first team. The Coach of the Year honor is the first for Rojas on the women’s side, though the Bucs’ leader was recognized as the men’s tennis Coach of the Year in 2017 after assuming head coaching duties in mid-March. It’s just the second women’s tennis Coach of the Year honor for ETSU and first since 1989, while Rojas becomes just the fourth coach to be honored as both a men’s Coach of the Year and a women’s Coach of the Year in his career, joining Chattanooga’s Tommy Bartlett, ETSU’s Dave Mullins and UNCG’s Jeff Trivette.
 
Carvajal finished the regular season 14-5 overall and 7-0 in conference play, playing every conference match at No. 5. The freshman was also part of a doubles team selected to the all-conference second team. She becomes just the second Buc to earn the honor and first since 1993.
 
Vroman won the Sportsmanship Award in balloting conducted by the coaches. The junior went 8-7 in the No. 1 spot on the year and was named to the all-conference second team at No. 1 for her efforts. She is the third Wofford player to receive the award and first since 2017.
 
In addition to Furman’s and ETSU’s two players, Samford, Western Carolina and Wofford each had one honoree on the first team. ETSU sophomore Laylo Bakhodirova earned a spot on the first team for the second straight season and was joined by teammate Andrea Pascual-Larrinaga, Samford junior Rouxanne Janse Van Rensburg, Western Carolina freshman Kata Foldeak, the Catamouts’ first first-team selection since 2016, and Wofford junior Lilie Steryous.
 
The Paladins’ duo of Madison Dillon and MaryAnn Rompf joined Adams and Kozarov on the first team for doubles play, marking the first time since 2017 that one team claimed two of the three possible spots on the first team. The 2017 feat was also accomplished by Furman.

The second-team all-conference selections are awarded based on position. ETSU and Furman players earned two positions each, while Chattanooga and Wofford earned one apiece. Vroman was chosen at No. 1 and Chattanooga junior Emma Van Hee was picked at No. 2 singles. Furman’s Madison Dillon earned the nod at No. 3, while ETSU redshirt sophomore Emilia Alfaro and Carvajal were honored at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Furman freshman Ellie Schoppe was recognized at No. 6 singles.
 
Western Carolina’s duo of Julia Pezzuco and Jacy Smith was the second-team No. 1 doubles team, while Samford’s Natalie De Ugarte and Cindy Oest were tabbed at No. 2. ETSU’s Carvajal and Pascual-Larrinaga earned the nod at No. 3.
 
The All-Freshman team was comprised of ETSU’s Carvajal, Furman’s Schoppe, Mercer’s Mary Courville, Samford’s Lopez, Chattanooga’s Jessie Young and Western Carolina’s Foldeak.
 
The 2021 Southern Conference Women’s Tennis Championship begins Friday, April 23, in Hoover, Alabama, and includes No. 1 Furman, No. 2 ETSU, No. 3 Wofford and No. 4 Samford.
 
2021 SoCon Women's Tennis Postseason Awards

Player of the Year
Katarina Kozarov, Furman

Freshman of the Year
Maria Fernanda Carvajal, ETSU

Sportsmanship Award
Jenna Vroman, Wofford
 
Coach of the Year
Ricky Rojas, ETSU
 
First Team
Singles
Laylo Bakhodirova, ETSU
Andrea Pascual-Larrinaga, ETSU
Julia Adams, Furman
Katarina Kozarov, Furman
Rouxanne Janse Van Rensburg, Samford
Kata Foldeak, Western Carolina
Lilie Steryous, Wofford
*features seven players due to a tie in the voting
 
Doubles
Julia Adams/Katarina Kozarov, Furman
Madison Dillon/MaryAnn Rompf, Furman
Rouxanne Janse Van Rensburg/Alexis Lopez, Samford
 
Second Team
Singles (by position)
No. 1 - Jenna Vroman, Wofford
No. 2 - Emma Van Hee, Chattanooga
No. 3 - Madison Dillon, Furman
No. 4 - Emilia Alfaro, ETSU
No. 5 - Maria Fernanda Carvajal, ETSU
No. 6 - Ellie Schoppe, Furman
 
Doubles (by position)
No. 1 - Julia Pezzuco/Jacy Smith, Western Carolina
No. 2 - Natalie De Ugarte/Cindy Oest, Samford
No. 3 - Maria Fernanda Carvajal/ Andrea Pascual-Larrinaga, ETSU
 

All-Freshman
Maria Fernanda Carvajal
Ellie Schoppe, Furman
Mary Courville, Mercer
Alexis Lopez, Samford
Jessie Young, Chattanooga
Kata Foldeak, Western Carolina

* Student-athletes that would have been eligible for all-freshman consideration last year before the season was curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic are eligible to be considered for this season’s all-freshman awards.