Ida Jarlskog (left), Marlee Zein (middle) and McCartney Kessler (right) all collected SEC Postseason Honors.
Three Gators Earn SEC Postseason Awards
Wednesday, April 24, 2019 | Women's Tennis
Women’s tennis places one on All-SEC first team, one on second team and one on All-Freshman squad.
BIRGMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southeastern Conference announced its yearly postseason award winners Wednesday afternoon and three University of Florida women's tennis players were represented as Ida Jarlskog earned First Team All-SEC honors, McCartney Kessler was tabbed All-SEC Second Team and Marlee Zein notched All-Freshman team status.
No. 15 Jarlskog enjoyed a strong first season of competition with the Gators, recording a team-best 13 singles wins during the dual match season. Playing in all but two matches at the top spot, the Georgia Tech transfer earned 10 victories over ranked opponents including two top 10 wins over No. 6 Fernanda Contreras of Vanderbilt and No. 10 Eden Richardson of LSU. The Lund, Sweden native has carried an ITA top 20 ranking all season long and rose to as high as No. 8 in early April.
Jarlskog led Florida with eight SEC wins and recorded a team-best three match clinchers. After dropping her first match of the dual match campaign, Jarlskog rattled off eight consecutive wins. In doubles, Jarlskog and teammate Tsveta Dimitrova combined to form UF's No. 2 unit and tied a team best with eight doubles victories. The duo posted a 1-0 record against ranked foes, playing an unfinished match vs. a ranked Vandy tandem and defeating No. 55 McBryde/Townsend of Texas A&M.
No. 30 Kessler was a force for Florida, competing at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles. Kessler, who dealt with a nagging injury for most of the season, compiled 11 dual match victories. Seven of her wins came over ranked opponents and one of her best came against No. 16 Marta Gonzalez of Georgia. The 2018 All-SEC First Team Selection began the fall season ranked No. 62 but climbed into the top 50 during the dual match season and stayed put, never earning a ranking higher than 44.
Kessler owned arguably the Gators' most impressive match-clinching win as she overcame a 2-6, 4-5 deficit against No. 75 Giulia Pairone of Michigan to seal Florida's come-from-behind victory. Kessler and Victoria Emma paired together to form Florida's No. 1 doubles team and posted seven SEC victories. The duo has appeared in the ITA top 100 on three occasions, surging to as high as No. 35 in the most recent issue. The tandem posted four top 100 wins, including two victories against top 10 foes. The duo defeated the nation's No. 1 doubles team in Mia Horvit and Ingrid Gamarra Martins of South Carolina at the SEC Tournament.
Zein finished her first season in Gainesville with 11 singles wins and nine doubles victories. The Texas native competed mostly at No. 4 singles but also played six matches at No. 3 when injuries caused the Florida rotation to shuffle. At No. 4, Zein registered a 9-5 record which included an impressive triumph over No. 45 Chiara Lommer of No. 14 Michigan. Zein came through for three match-clinching wins; earning the final point vs. Tennessee at home, again in the Gators' road win at No. 23 LSU and most recently in the second round of the SEC Tournament vs. Ole Miss.
Zein played a pivotal role in the Gators' back-to-back top 25 road wins against LSU and Texas A&M, notching two singles victories and a doubles win over No. 67 McQuaid/Quiterio over the No. 12 Aggies. Zein was one of just three Florida players to reach the double-digit win plateau. In doubles, the freshman saw most of her time at the No. 3 slot. Zein and Sydney Berlin paired together for Florida's final eight contests and won four of their last six matches. Zein was recognized as the SEC Freshman of the Week twice during the regular season.
In the 37 year history of the program, Florida has racked up 196 All-SEC accolades.
South Carolina's Kevin Epley was named SEC Coach of the Year. South Carolina is currently 20-3 overall and ended the conference season 12-1. The team won the SEC Tournament on Sunday with a 4-3 victory over Georgia.
South Carolina's Ingrid Martins was named Player of the Year, the first Gamecock to be honored with the award in women's tennis. Martins, currently ranked fourth, goes into NCAA action, 14-2 in dual singles matches. She is 12-2 against nationally ranked opponents.
Freshman of the Year was awarded to Georgia's Meg Kowalski. She is 20-1 this season having gone a perfect 8-0 in SEC play.
Mississippi State's Anastasia Rentouli was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year during this year's SEC Tournament. She holds an outstanding cumulative 3.97 GPA in her pursuit of a double major in finance and marketing. To date, she is a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll (2016, 2017, 2018) member, three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete (2016, 2017, 2018), and was named CoSIDA/Google Cloud Academic All-District VI In 2018.
What's Next for the Gators
The 64-team field for the 2019 NCAA Championships is set to be unveiled Monday, April 29 at 6:30 p.m. ET on NCAA.com
A complete list of the awards follows and ties were not broken leading to eight member All-Freshmen Team.
First Team All-SEC
Andie Daniell, Alabama
Ida Jarlskog, Florida
Marta Gonzalez, Georgia
Katrina Jokic, Georgia
Vivian Wolff, Georgia
Justina Mikulskyte, Kentucky
Eden Richardson, LSU
Paige Cline, South Carolina
Mia Horvit, South Carolina
Ingrid Martins, South Carolina
Fernanda Contreras, Vanderbilt
Christina Rosca, Vanderbilt
Second Team All-SEC
Martina Zerulo, Arkansas
McCartney Kessler, Florida
Lourdes Carle, Georgia
Elena Christofi, Georgia
Jessica Golovin, LSU
Tea Jandric, Ole Miss
Emma Antonaki, Mississippi State
Anastasia Rentouli, Mississippi State
Sadie Hammond, Tennessee
Jayci Goldsmith, Texas A&M
Katya Townsend, Texas A&M
Georgia Drummy, Vanderbilt
All-Freshman
Marlee Zein, Florida
Lourdes Carle, Georgia
Meg Kowalski, Georgia
Emma Antonaki, Mississippi State
Rebeka Mertena, Tennessee
Jayci Goldsmith, Texas A&M
Katya Townsend, Texas A&M
Georgia Drummy, Vanderbilt
Player of the Year
Ingrid Martins, South Carolina
Freshmen of the Year
Meg Kowalski, Georgia
Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Anastasia Rentouli, Mississippi State
Coach of the Year
Kevin Epley, South Carolina
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No. 15 Jarlskog enjoyed a strong first season of competition with the Gators, recording a team-best 13 singles wins during the dual match season. Playing in all but two matches at the top spot, the Georgia Tech transfer earned 10 victories over ranked opponents including two top 10 wins over No. 6 Fernanda Contreras of Vanderbilt and No. 10 Eden Richardson of LSU. The Lund, Sweden native has carried an ITA top 20 ranking all season long and rose to as high as No. 8 in early April.
Jarlskog led Florida with eight SEC wins and recorded a team-best three match clinchers. After dropping her first match of the dual match campaign, Jarlskog rattled off eight consecutive wins. In doubles, Jarlskog and teammate Tsveta Dimitrova combined to form UF's No. 2 unit and tied a team best with eight doubles victories. The duo posted a 1-0 record against ranked foes, playing an unfinished match vs. a ranked Vandy tandem and defeating No. 55 McBryde/Townsend of Texas A&M.
No. 30 Kessler was a force for Florida, competing at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles. Kessler, who dealt with a nagging injury for most of the season, compiled 11 dual match victories. Seven of her wins came over ranked opponents and one of her best came against No. 16 Marta Gonzalez of Georgia. The 2018 All-SEC First Team Selection began the fall season ranked No. 62 but climbed into the top 50 during the dual match season and stayed put, never earning a ranking higher than 44.
Kessler owned arguably the Gators' most impressive match-clinching win as she overcame a 2-6, 4-5 deficit against No. 75 Giulia Pairone of Michigan to seal Florida's come-from-behind victory. Kessler and Victoria Emma paired together to form Florida's No. 1 doubles team and posted seven SEC victories. The duo has appeared in the ITA top 100 on three occasions, surging to as high as No. 35 in the most recent issue. The tandem posted four top 100 wins, including two victories against top 10 foes. The duo defeated the nation's No. 1 doubles team in Mia Horvit and Ingrid Gamarra Martins of South Carolina at the SEC Tournament.
Zein finished her first season in Gainesville with 11 singles wins and nine doubles victories. The Texas native competed mostly at No. 4 singles but also played six matches at No. 3 when injuries caused the Florida rotation to shuffle. At No. 4, Zein registered a 9-5 record which included an impressive triumph over No. 45 Chiara Lommer of No. 14 Michigan. Zein came through for three match-clinching wins; earning the final point vs. Tennessee at home, again in the Gators' road win at No. 23 LSU and most recently in the second round of the SEC Tournament vs. Ole Miss.
Zein played a pivotal role in the Gators' back-to-back top 25 road wins against LSU and Texas A&M, notching two singles victories and a doubles win over No. 67 McQuaid/Quiterio over the No. 12 Aggies. Zein was one of just three Florida players to reach the double-digit win plateau. In doubles, the freshman saw most of her time at the No. 3 slot. Zein and Sydney Berlin paired together for Florida's final eight contests and won four of their last six matches. Zein was recognized as the SEC Freshman of the Week twice during the regular season.
In the 37 year history of the program, Florida has racked up 196 All-SEC accolades.
South Carolina's Kevin Epley was named SEC Coach of the Year. South Carolina is currently 20-3 overall and ended the conference season 12-1. The team won the SEC Tournament on Sunday with a 4-3 victory over Georgia.
South Carolina's Ingrid Martins was named Player of the Year, the first Gamecock to be honored with the award in women's tennis. Martins, currently ranked fourth, goes into NCAA action, 14-2 in dual singles matches. She is 12-2 against nationally ranked opponents.
Freshman of the Year was awarded to Georgia's Meg Kowalski. She is 20-1 this season having gone a perfect 8-0 in SEC play.
Mississippi State's Anastasia Rentouli was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year during this year's SEC Tournament. She holds an outstanding cumulative 3.97 GPA in her pursuit of a double major in finance and marketing. To date, she is a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll (2016, 2017, 2018) member, three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete (2016, 2017, 2018), and was named CoSIDA/Google Cloud Academic All-District VI In 2018.
What's Next for the Gators
The 64-team field for the 2019 NCAA Championships is set to be unveiled Monday, April 29 at 6:30 p.m. ET on NCAA.com
A complete list of the awards follows and ties were not broken leading to eight member All-Freshmen Team.
First Team All-SEC
Andie Daniell, Alabama
Ida Jarlskog, Florida
Marta Gonzalez, Georgia
Katrina Jokic, Georgia
Vivian Wolff, Georgia
Justina Mikulskyte, Kentucky
Eden Richardson, LSU
Paige Cline, South Carolina
Mia Horvit, South Carolina
Ingrid Martins, South Carolina
Fernanda Contreras, Vanderbilt
Christina Rosca, Vanderbilt
Second Team All-SEC
Martina Zerulo, Arkansas
McCartney Kessler, Florida
Lourdes Carle, Georgia
Elena Christofi, Georgia
Jessica Golovin, LSU
Tea Jandric, Ole Miss
Emma Antonaki, Mississippi State
Anastasia Rentouli, Mississippi State
Sadie Hammond, Tennessee
Jayci Goldsmith, Texas A&M
Katya Townsend, Texas A&M
Georgia Drummy, Vanderbilt
All-Freshman
Marlee Zein, Florida
Lourdes Carle, Georgia
Meg Kowalski, Georgia
Emma Antonaki, Mississippi State
Rebeka Mertena, Tennessee
Jayci Goldsmith, Texas A&M
Katya Townsend, Texas A&M
Georgia Drummy, Vanderbilt
Player of the Year
Ingrid Martins, South Carolina
Freshmen of the Year
Meg Kowalski, Georgia
Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Anastasia Rentouli, Mississippi State
Coach of the Year
Kevin Epley, South Carolina
FOLLOW THE GATORS
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
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