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Michigan Tech’s Suthijindawong Tabbed “Freshman of the Year,” HC’s Walbright Named “Coach of the Year”

BAY CITY, Mich. - Northwood University’s Susana Alcaraz (Aguascalientes, Mexico) was named the 2012 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) women’s tennis “Player of the Year” by the league’s head coaches in all-conference balloting.  The coaches named Michigan Technological University’s Kwang Suthijindawong (Bangkok, Thailand/Duluth, Minn./East) the league’s “Freshman of the Year,” while Nicole Walbright, head coach of the Hillsdale College team, earned GLIAC “Coach of the Year” honors.

Alcaraz led Northwood to its ninth GLIAC Championship in the last 10 years thanks to her strong play at both the top of the singles and doubles lineups.  In singles, she went 15-1 overall this fall, which included a 13-1 mark during GLIAC regular season play.  Alcaraz was even better in doubles, posting a 17-0 mark overall in doubles (14-0 in GLIAC play).  For her career, she has gone 47-1 in GLIAC regular season singles and doubles matches, all of which have occurred at the No. 1 position. 

Suthijindawong produced a undefeated singles season by winning all 14 her matches at No. 2 singles in straight sets. The Bangkok, Thailand, native never surrendered more than four games in any match. In doubles, the rookie was a combined 12-2. She played with two different players during the season and compiled a 2-1 record at No. 1 doubles and 12-1 slate at No. 2 doubles.

Walbright led the Chargers to a remarkable turnaround in the program’s second season in 2011. With the benefit of two top-flight freshmen and a full year to prepare the team for the season, Hillsdale’s win total improved from three to 11 in 2012, and the Chargers finished in fifth place in the 2012 GLIAC Tournament. Walbright guided the team to a seven-game winning streak during the season, and Hillsdale won its final two matches of the conference tournament, including avenging a regular-season loss to Ashland to earn fifth place in the final GLIAC standings.

Joining Alcaraz and Suthijindawong on the 2012 All-GLIAC Women’s Tennis First Team are: Michigan Technological University junior Natalie Lebedeva; Tiffin University senior Malaika Bora Messi; Wayne State University freshman Julia Kamenko and sophomore Yasha Moore; Hillsdale College senior Bittany Parks; Saginaw Valley State University junior Yunjiao Shangguan; and Grand Valley State University junior Niki Shipman.
   

    A complete list of the 2012 All-GLIAC women’s tennis teams are below:

2012 GLIAC Women’s Tennis Postseason Awards
Player of the Year: Susana Alcaraz - Northwood
Freshman of the Year: Kwang Suthijindawong - Michigan Tech
Coach of the Year: Nicole Walbright – Hillsdale College
2012 All-GLIAC Women’s Tennis Teams
First-Team
Name	School	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Susana Alcaraz	Northwood	So.	Aguascalientes, Mexico
Natalia Lebedeva	Michigan Tech	Jr.	Nakhodka, Russia
Malaika Bora Messi	Tiffin	Sr.	Yaounde, Cameroon
Julia Kamenko	Wayne State	Fr.	Thornhill, Ont./Vaughan S.S.
Yahsha Moore	Wayne State	So.	West Bloomfield, Mich.
Brittany Parks	Hillsdale	Sr.	South Lyon, Mich./Oklahoma
Yunjiao Shangguan	Saginaw Valley State	Sr.	Chengdu, China/Shiyang
Niki Shipman	Grand Valley State	Jr.	Saline, Mich.
Kwang Suthijindawong	Michigan Tech	Fr.	Bangkok, Thailand / Duluth (Minn.) East
Second-Team
Name	School	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Leah Dancz	Grand Valley State	So.	Hudsonville, Mich.
Morgan Delp	Hillsdale	So.	Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic
Ana Jan	Ferris State	Jr.	Nazor, Croatia/5 Gimnazija Vladimir
Ayana Kobayashi	Northwood	Sr.	Shimonoseki-Shi, Japan
Alex Poissant	Wayne State	Fr.	Laval, Que./Vanier Prep
Zdenka Pozo	Ashland	So.	Cochabamba, Bolivia/Cochabamba Cooperative
Erin Anderson Scott	Lake Superior State	So.	Hamilton, New Zealand/St. Peters Cambridge
Svenja Stephan	Northwood	Sr.	Hamburg, Germany
Erika Sullivan	Ashland	Sr.	Broadview Hts., Ohio/Brecksville-Broadview Hts.
Honorable Mention
Name	School	Yr.	Hometown/High School
Kira Kotova	Ashland	Jr.	Moscow, Russia /#1535
Tabitha Simpson	Ferris State	Sr.	Copley, Ohio/St. Vincent - St. Mary's
Kelsey Yoder	Findlay	Sr.	Massillon, Ohio/Perry
Lexi Rice	Grand Valley State	Jr.	Augusta, Mich./Gull Lake
Sydney Delp	Hillsdale	Fr.	Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic
Cristy Suarez	Lake Erie	Fr.	Puebla, Mexico/Tecnologico de Monterrey
Sarah Awe	Lake Superior State	Fr.	Washington Township, Mich./Romeo
Asia Harris	Malone	Fr.	Cuyahoga Falls, OH    /Cuyahoga Valley Christian
Chelsea Uganski	Michigan Tech	Sr.	Whitehall, Mich.
Nastya Puchkina	Northwood	So.	Seversk, Russia
Aline Mariano	Ohio Dominican	Sr.	Sao Paulo, Brazil /Colegio Objetivo
Meghan Woody	Saginaw Valley State	So.	Midland, Mich./Dow HS
Valentina Mazzolla	Tiffin	Fr.	Mar Del Plata, Argentina
Mary Beck	Walsh	Sr.	Alliance, OH/St. Thomas Aquinas
Anne Li Briand	Wayne State	So.	Repentigny, Que./École Secondaire Félix-Leclerc