2017 BIG WEST WOMEN'S TENNIS
Big West Conference - 2 Corporate Park, Suite 206, Irvine, CA 92606
Contact: Mike Villamor (Assistant Commissioner/Communications - Tennis Contact)
Phone: (949) 261-2525 • Fax: (949) 261-2528 • email: [email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For Immediate Release - Thursday, May 4, 2017
March 10, 2003
Melounova Earns Dual Player, Freshman of the Year Awards
Big West Women's Tennis All-Conference Team Unveiled
IRVINE, CA – The 2017 Big West Women's Tennis All-Conference awards were revealed today with Hawai‘i standout
Petra Melounova making history as the Player and Freshman of the Year. The Rainbow Wahine made a clean sweep of
the top awards as Jun Hernandez captured Coach of the Year accolades.
Melounova, a native of Havlickuv Brod, Czech Republic, joined Long Beach State's Hannah Grady (2006) and Maeva
Razakasoa (2014) as only the third individual in Big West history to claim both the Player and Freshman of the Year awards
in the same season.
She dominated the competition in 2017 with an outstanding 13-1 singles dual match record between the No. 1 and
No. 2 positions. She was an unbeaten 7-0 at No. 2. After losing her opening match of the season, Melounova reeled off
13 straight victories while five other contests went unfinished. The 13 wins tied Melounova for the most on the team. She
compiled a 5-0 record against Big West opponents. Her biggest singles win of the year came on April 9 when she overwhelmed No. 39 Carol Yang of UNLV, 6-0, 6-1, on the road in Las Vegas. Melounova earned a national singles ranking as
high as No. 54 (April 18), and she qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship May 24-29 in Athens, Ga.
Hernandez built Hawai‘i into conference champions in his 10th year with the program, and fifth as a member of the Big
West. The first-time Big West Coach of the Year honoree guided the Rainbow Wahine to a perfect 8-0 league record and
the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. Hernandez led UH to winning streaks of seven and five during a campaign
that led to a 16-7 overall record. Hawai‘i defeated three-time defending conference regular season champion Long Beach
State and UC Santa Barbara en route to the regular season crown. Hernandez led UH to the Big West Tournament final
for the second straight year, coming up just short to the Gauchos. In recent history, Hernandez has recruited the last three
Big West Freshman of the Year honorees to UH, as well as the 2015 Big West Player of the Year in Cindy Nguyen.
The complete listing of the 2017 Big West All-Conference Team is on the next page:
2017 BIG WEST WOMEN’S TENNIS ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
FIRST TEAM - SINGLES
Player
Palina Dubavets
Constance Branstine
Marina Hruba
Petra Melounova
Cindy Nguyen
Maeva Razakasoa
Alexis Valenzuela
School
UC Santa Barbara
UC Irvine
Hawai‘i
Hawai‘i
Hawai’i
Long Beach State
Cal State Fullerton
Yr.Hometown
Jr.
Minsk, Belarus
Fr.
Orange, CA
Jr.
Prague, Czech Republic
Fr.
Havlíckuv Brod, Czech Republic
Sr.
Long Beach, CA
Sr.
Cranves-Sales, France
Sr.
West Covina, CA
School
Cal Poly
UC Santa Barbara
Cal State Fullerton
Long Beach State
UC Santa Barbara
CSUN
UC Davis
Yr.Hometown
Fr.
Raleigh, NC
Jr.
São Paulo, Brazil
Sr.
La Mirada, CA
Sr.
Hem, France
Sr.
Noosa, Australia
Sr.
Taiwan
Jr.
San Carlos, CA
School
CSUN
Cal Poly
Long Beach State
UC Santa Barbara
Yr.Hometown
So.
Basel, Switzerland
Jr.
Sheffield, England
Jr.
Fuveau, France
Sr.
Melbourne, Australia
SECOND TEAM - SINGLES
Player
Susanne Boyden
Natalie Da Silveira
Camille De Leon
Julie Gerard
Jaimee Gilbertson
Mickey Hsu
Kristy Jorgensen
HONORABLE MENTION - SINGLES
Player
Elisa Elhadj
Molly Reed
Lena Pacholski
Stefani Stojic
FIRST TEAM - DOUBLES
Player
School
Yr.Hometown
Alexis Valenzuela/Camille De Leon
Cal State Fullerton Sr./Sr.
West Covina, CA/La Mirada, CA
Maeva Razakasoa/Julie Gerard
Long Beach State Sr./Sr.
Cranves-Sales, France/Hem, France
Stefani Stojic/Palina Dubavets
UC Santa Barbara Sr./Jr.
Melbourne, Australia/Minsk, Belarus
Petra Melounova/Roxanne Resma
Hawai‘i
Fr./So. Havlíckuv Brod, Czech Republic/
Cagayan De Oro City, Phillipines
SECOND TEAM - DOUBLES
Player
Mickey Hsu/Kristen Poei
Kristy Jorgensen/Kelsie Bryant
Melissa Baker/Palina Dubavets
Cindy Nguyen/Klara Pribylova
HONORABLE MENTION - DOUBLES
Player
Seriana Saltzen/Molly Reed
Karla Portalatin/Sarah Nuno
Lena Pacholski/Laura Eales
Constance Branstine/Stephanie Hazell
Vivien Dvali/Hali Dickson
School
CSUN
UC Davis
UC Santa Barbara
Hawai‘i
Yr.Hometown
Sr./Sr.
Taiwan/Honolulu, Hawai‘i
Jr./So. San Carlos, CA/Carpinteria, CA
Sr./Jr.
Simi Valley, CA/Minsk, Belarus
Sr./Jr.
Long Beach, CA/Duchcov, Czech Republic
School
Cal Poly
Cal State Fullerton
Long Beach State
UC Irvine
UC Irvine
Yr.Hometown
Fr./Jr.
Gold River, CA/Sheffield, England
So./So. Santa Domingo, Dominican Rep./Sylmar, CA
Jr./Sr.
Fuveau, France/Somerford Keyne, England
Fr./So. Orange, CA/Irvine, CA
Jr./Jr.
Valley Village, CA/Fullerton, CA
2017 BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Petra Melounova, Hawai‘i
2017 BIG WEST FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Petra Melounova, Hawai‘i
2017 BIG WEST COACH OF THE YEAR
Jun Hernandez, Hawai‘i