April 17, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- For the second year in row, the Samford women's tennis team has won the regular-season championship and for the second year in a row, Samford's head coach has earned the title of Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year. In a banquet Thursday night, Samford women's tennis head coach David Vest was named OVC Women's Coach of the Year while Taylor Morgan was named Freshman of the Year.
Vest, who is in his first season at the helm of the Samford women's team, led his Bulldogs to its second straight OVC regular-season title. The Bulldogs finished the season with a perfect 10-0 OVC record and went 18-5 overall to earn the No. 1 seed in the tournament.
Morgan compiled an 18-5 overall mark and an 8-2 Conference record at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles positions so far this year. The Jacksonville, Fla., native teamed up with fellow freshman Lindsey Mallory to go 19-4 overall and a perfect 10-0 at No. 2 doubles. Morgan, a 2008 All-OVC first team pick, is the first Bulldog to be named OVC Freshman of the Year.
Joining Morgan on the women's All-OVC first team are Viviane Marani (Jacksonville State), Svetlana Pimenova (Eastern Kentucky), Alexandra Sitnikova (Eastern Kentucky), Bryce Kristal (Southeast Missouri), Natalie Martin (Eastern Illinois) and Elizma Schoones (UT Martin).
Three Bulldogs were selection to the women's second team - freshmen Lindsey Mallory and Andrie Meiring and senior Katie Weaver. Joining the trip on the second team are Mireia Cano (Tennessee Tech), Martina Dessbesell (Jacksonville State), Kim Ferris (Jacksonville State) and Adriana Alvarez (Murray State).
Both the Samford men and women will try for their first OVC Tournament Championships. Both teams got to the final round of the 2007 tournament but could not get past their opponents. The Bulldog men will play their first match on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at the Belmont tennis courts. They will take on the winner of Eastern Kentucky and UT-Martin. The women will play their first contest at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Tennessee State tennis courts. They will take on the winner of Murray State and UT Martin.
