South Atlantic Conference Release
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Junior Ana Carla Resende (Minas Gerais, Brazil) earned Preseason All-Conference First Team Singles honors ahead of the 2021 season, as announced by the South Atlantic Conference Thursday.
"She's in her third year, coming in January a couple years ago," head coach Jim Frederick said. "When she came in, she was able to be 40th in the nation, Freshman of the Year, and All-Conference first-team which I'd say is pretty good."
Resende's 7-2 record in her sophomore campaign all came at the No. 1 singles position, including a 2-1 mark in SAC play. She and teammate Hannah Price (Knoxville, Tenn.) were the only athletes to record a winning record in singles play during the shortened 2019-20 season. Resende was able to garner a pair of three-match winning streaks throughout the season, including one to close out the season strong. Resende held a 6-3 doubles record with teammates Anita Chornei (Kyviv, Ukraine), Klara Vuckovic (Reutlingen, Germany) and Abby Reis (Des Moines, IA). Resende and Vuckovic went a perfect 2-0 as the No. 1 and 3, while Resende finished season with three-straight wins alongside Reis.
Resende started her Eagles career collecting All-SAC first team singles and Freshman of the Year honors in 2018-19. She went a whopping 13-4 in singles play (6-2 in SAC play) at No. 1 while publishing wins in three matches against No. 12 Sewanee, No. 13 North Georgia, and No. 45 Tusculum. For her doubles play, she went 7-8 alongside Ali Harris (Crossville, Tenn.) as the No. 1 pairing.
This is the second straight first-team honor for Resende, who ended her freshman campaign as a member of the top six in the SAC. She also earned Freshman of the Year honors to end the 2019 season, racking up the most wins as a freshman singles player among all female athletes in the SAC.
Seniors from Queen's Yana Fleyer and Sasha Davidzenka along with Lenoir-Rhyne's junior Gemma Southwick joins Resende as the only athletes to repeat as first-team All-SAC selections. Graduate student Annie McCullough (Tusculum) and junior Viktorija Veselinova (Queens) round out the group of six receiving the preseason first-team singles accolade.
A player that possesses high control and ability to wear her opponent down with high-quality rallying, Resende has continued to grow in her power game over the offseason. Frederick knows that while she may never have the measurables of a power swinger, she can provide her competition with a greater challenge as her game develops to incorporate more control of the point.
"She just has to play up to her level. She won't lead the team by her words, but her actions. She goes out there and shows what she can do in order to help the team find its true self," Frederick said. "She's will not live by the saying "take my word" because she just go out and show her opponent her style of play."
Resende and her team open the season Feb. 6 against Union (Ky.) at 2 p.m. at the Knoxville Racquet Club.
2021 SAC Women's Tennis Preseason All-Conference
First Team Doubles
Annie McCullough/Caitlin McColluough, Tusculum
Sasha Davidzenka / Yana Fleyer, Queens
Gemma Southwick / Diana Babinets, Lenoir-Rhyne
Second Team Doubles
Kataya Akimenko & Liza Akimenko, UVA Wise
Una Pandurevic/Lauren Laughton, Catawba
Judit Gonzalez Agud/Elisa Aguirre, Newberry
First Team Singles
Annie McCullough, Tusculum
Viktorija Veselinova, Queens
Yana Fleyer, Queens
Ana Carla Resende, Carson-Newman
Sasha Davidzenka, Queens
Gemma Southwick, Lenoir-Rhyne
Second Team Singles
Julia Lopez, Tusculum
Liza Akimenko, UVa-Wise
Viktorija Veselinova, Queens
Camilla Ciaccia, Wingate
Caitlin McCullough, Tusculum
Elena Bompieri, Wingate
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