April 24, 2008

The Big Ten Conference announced today the 2008 Women's Tennis All-Big Ten team and individual honorees.  Northwestern's Maria Mosolova was selected as both Player and Freshman of the Year by the coaches.  Mosolova finished the year with an 18-2 record, including a perfect 10-0 mark in conference matches.  The Moscow, Russia, native is the seventh Wildcat to be named Player of the Year in as many years, and is the fourth-consecutive freshman from NU to earn Freshman of the Year honors.  The last Northwestern women's tennis athlete to be awarded both top player and freshman honors was Audra Cohen in 2005, and it is only the fourth time in Big Ten history the same person has earned both accolades.

Northwestern head coach Claire Pollard was named Coach of the Year for the fourth time of her career.  Her last Big Ten coaching honor came in 2005.  Pollard's Wildcats finished the season 23-1 with a perfect 10-0 Big Ten record to win the regular season conference crown for a record-breaking 10th-consecutive season.  With that success, NU is currently ranked No. 1 in the country.  Northwestern has now won 60-consecutive Big Ten matches including the post season, and have not lost a conference match since April of 2004. 

The Conference office also announced honorees from each team for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. The 11 student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. These student-athletes are now candidates for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, as the Conference office will honor one male and one female student-athlete from each institution at the end of the school year.

A complete list of the 2008 All-Big Ten team and postseason honorees appears below.

Athlete of the Year:  Maria Mosolova, Northwestern

Freshman of the Year:  Maria Mosolova, Northwestern

Coach of the Year:  Claire Pollard, Northwestern

2008 All-Big Ten Team                       2008 Sportsmanship Award Honorees 
Megan Fudge, Illinois*                        Marisa Lambropolous, Illinois
Alba Berdala, Indiana                         Brianna Williams, Indiana
Jacqueline Lee, Iowa                         Kayla Berry, Iowa
Milicia Veselinovic, Iowa                     Allie Shafner, Michigan
Chisako Sugiyama, Michigan*              Ana Milosavlievic, Michigan State
Whitney Taney, Michigan                   Lindsay Risebrough, Minnesota
Christine Bader, Michigan State           Alexis Conill, Northwestern
Lauren Lui, Northwestern *                Caitlin O'Keefe, Ohio State
Maria Mosolova, Northwestern*          Leyla Morzan, Penn State
Samantha Murray, Northwestern         Brooke Beier, Purdue
Georgia Rose, Northwestern               Jessica Seyferth, Wisconsin
Brooke Beier, Purdue

     
*unanimous selection