Tennessee Tech’s Dean O’Brien was selected as the 2009 Ohio Valley Conference Men’s Tennis Player of the Year while Eastern Kentucky’s Alexandra Sitnikova was tabbed the OVC Women’s Tennis Player of the Year as voted on by the league’s head coaches. TTU’s Justin Kirstein and UT Martin’s Jodie Tiley were named OVC Men’s and Women’s Freshman of the Year, respectively. EKU’s Rob Oertel and Jacksonville State’s Steve Bailey shared Men’s Coach of the Year honors while UT Martin’s Dennis Taylor earned Women’s Coach of the Year accolades.
O’Brien, a sophomore from Benmore, South Africa, finished the regular-season with a perfect 8-0 Conference record while going 17-1 overall at No. 1 singles. The All-OVC first team selection is ranked No. 110 in the ITA rankings. O’Brien also compiled a 11-4 overall record and a 5-2 OVC mark at the No. 1 doubles position. He is the second straight Golden Eagle to earn OVC Player of the Year honors.
Sitnikova went 9-0 in the OVC while compiling a 16-7 overall mark at the No. 1 singles position. The Almaty, Kazakhstan native also went 14-4 in doubles action. In addition be being named Player of the Year, Sitnikova earned All-OVC first team honors. She is the first EKU player to win the award since 2006.
Kirstein, a native of Johannesburg, South Africa, finished the regular-season with a 14-4 overall mark while going a perfect 8-0 in league play at the No. 4 singles position. The All-OVC second team pick went 5-2 in the OVC and 9-4 overall at the No. 3 doubles spot. Kirstein is the second Tech player to earn Freshman of the Year honors.
Tiley posted a 10-7 overall mark while going 6-2 in Conference play at the No. 4 singles spot in the regular-season. The Cambridge, England native also compiled an 11-4 overall record and a 7-1 OVC mark at the No. 3 doubles position. Tiley is the second player from UT Martin to be named Freshman of the year.
Oertel earns his second men’s Coach of the Year award after guiding Eastern Kentucky to its first-regular season title. The Colonels went a perfect 8-0 in Conference action while posting a 17-8 overall mark in the regular-season.
Bailey was named the men’s Coach of the Year this season after earning women’s Coach of the Year honors in 2008. This is the third time Bailey has won the men’s award. The Gamecocks went 7-1 in the OVC and 19-2 overall in 2009.
Taylor picks up his third women’s Coach of the Year honor and first since 2006. The Skyhawks finished the regular-season with a 12-6 overall record while going 8-1 in league play to earn its 16th straight OVC Tournament berth.
Joining O’Brien on the All-OVC first team are Jacksonville State junior Eduardo Saratt (Rua Pedro Celestino, Brazil), senior Scott Robertson (Adelaide, Australia) and senior Bernardo Bachino (Cinquentenario, Brazil); Eastern Kentucky sophomore Alex Das Izquierdo (Valencia, Spain); and Morehead State senior Greg Anderson (Johannesburg, South Africa). Making up the second team with Kirstein are UT Martin senior Andrey Yesipov (Zhukovsky, Russia), senior Stephan Bruwer (Robertson, South Africa); and senior Alfredo Krywacz (Campinas, Brazil); Austin Peay junior Leo Locatelli (Pelotas, Brazil); and Eastern Illinois junior Jeff Rutherford (Richmond, Ky.).
In addition to Sitnikova, the women’s All-OVC first team honorees include Eastern Kentucky senior Svetlana Pimenova (St. Petersburg, Russia) and sophomore Myriem Mhirit (Rabat, Morocco); Tennessee Tech Kelly Holtzhausen (Johannesburg, South Africa); UT Martin senior Sara Leavy (Leighton Buzzard, UK); and Austin Peay junior Mariana Pagan (Campos Salle, Brazil). Earning second team accolades were Jacksonville State sophomore Viviane Marani (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and sophomore Martina Dessbesell (Panambi, Brazil); UT Martin junior Martie Wahl (Cape Town, South Africa) and junior Belisa de Brito (Curtibia, Brazil); Austin Peay junior Michelle Liew (Kuching, Malaysia); and Murray State sophomore Alexis Webb (Cumming, Ga.).
2009 All-Ohio Valley Conference Men’s Tennis Teams
(voted on by the league's head tennis coaches)
FIRST TEAM
Name, School Cl. Hometown
Eduardo Saratt, Jacksonville State Jr. Rua Pedro Celestino, Brazil
Dean O’Brien, Tennessee Tech So. Benmore, South Africa
Alex Das Izquierdo, Eastern Kentucky So. Valencia, Spain
Bernardo Bachino, Jacksonville State Sr. Cinquentenario, Brazil
Scott Robertson, Jacksonville State Sr. Adelaide, Australia
Greg Anderson, Morehead State Sr. Johannesburg, South Africa
SECOND TEAM
Name, School Cl. Hometown
Leo Locatelli, Austin Peay Jr. Pelotas, Brazil
Jeff Rutherford, Eastern Illinois Jr. Richmond, Ky.
Justin Kirstein, Tennessee Tech Fr. Johannesburg, South Africa
Andrey Yesipov, UT Martin Sr. Zhukovsky, Russia
Stephan Bruwer, UT Martin Sr. Robertson, South Africa
Alfredo Krywacz, UT Martin Sr. Campinas, Brazil
OVC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Dean O’Brien, Tennessee Tech
OVC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Justin Kirstein, Tennessee Tech
OVC CO-COACHES OF THE YEAR: Rob Oertel, Eastern Kentucky; Steve Bailey, Jacksonville State
2009 All-Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Tennis Teams
(voted on by the league's head tennis coaches)
FIRST TEAM
Name, School Cl. Hometown
Alexandra Sitnikova, Eastern Kentucky Sr. Almaty, Kazakhstan
Svetlana Pimenova, Eastern Kentucky Sr. St. Petersburg, Russia
Kelly Holtzhausen, Tennessee Tech So. Johannesburg, South Africa
Mariana Pagan, Austin Peay Jr. Campos Salle, Brazil
Myriem Mhirit, Eastern Kentucky So. Rabat, Morocco
Sara Leavy, UT Martin Sr. Leighton Buzzard, UK
SECOND TEAM
Name, School Cl. Hometown
Michelle Liew, Austin Peay Jr. Kuching, Malaysia
Viviane Marani, Jacksonville State So. Sao Paulo, Brazil
Martina Dessbesell, Jacksonville State So. Panambi, Brazil
Alexis Webb, Murray State So. Cumming, Ga.
Martie Wahl, UT Martin Jr. Cape Town, South Africa
Belisa de Brito, UT Martin Jr. Curitiba, Brazil
OVC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Alexandra Sitnikova, Eastern Kentucky
OVC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Jodie Tiley, UT Martin
OVC COACH OF THE YEAR: Dennis Taylor, UT Martin