LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - In exclusive voting by the head coaches in the league, Sofia Vega of Texas Lutheran University has been selected the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Women's Tennis Player-of-the-Year for the third consecutive year and Billy Porter of Southwestern University was voted Women's Coach-of-the-Year.
In that same balloting, Taite Drews-Jones of Southwestern University was selected as SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year.
TLU's Vega, a senior from Corpus Christi, Texas, is the No. 8-ranked player in the ITA West Region and went 25-5 in singles play this season. She also holds a No. 15 regional ranking in doubles play with partner Alli McLain. She also earned SCAC All-Tournament honors for the third consecutive year with a 2-0 mark at this year's championships. Vega is currently 105-18 in singles play and over 60 wins in doubles for her career. She is the first SCAC women's tennis player to earn three Player-of-the-Year honors in consecutive years since DePauw University's Liz Bondi (2005-07).
Vega received six first-place votes in the Player-of-the-Year while Trinity University's Marie Lutz received the remaining vote.
Southwestern's Drews-Jones, a freshman from Minneapolis, Minn., has posted a record of 14-4 in singles play in her first collegiate year. She helped lead the Pirates to a 21-5 overall record and a second place finish in the SCAC tournament. Drews-Jones is currently ranked 14th in the West Region. In No. 2 doubles, Drews-Jones has teamed up with Jessey Martinez, posting a 16-3 record.
Drews-Jones received five votes in the Newcomer-of-the-Year balloting. Caroline Kutach of Trinity and Kirsten Weber of Austin College each picked up one vote.
Southwestern's Porter was named SCAC Women's Tennis Coach-of-the-Year after leading his squad to a second-place finish at the 2016 conference championship tournament. With a roster made up completely of freshmen and sophomores, Porter guided the Pirates to the conference championship final – only the second time for the program since joining the SCAC prior to the 1995 season. Southwestern finished the 2016 campaign with a 21-5 record, setting a new mark for wins in a season.
Porter received four first-place votes in the Coach-of-the-Year balloting. Gretchen Rush of Trinity University received two votes, while Anthony Weber of Colorado College received the remaining vote.
To view the entire 2016 All-SCAC Women's Tennis release, click here.
