Xavier’s Perez, Tulane’s Yelamanchili earn All-Louisiana tennis honors

LAFAYETTE – Xavier University of New Orleans’ Santiago Perez and Tulane’s Lahari Yelamanchili each earned top honors as the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) released its 2022 Men’s and Women’s College Tennis Teams on Tuesday.

The All-Louisiana men’s and women’s teams were selected after a vote of the state’s Men’s and Women’s Tennis sports information directors.

Xavier claimed three of the four specialty awards on the men’s side with Perez named the state’s Player of the Year with Jacobi Bain earning Freshman of the Year honors and Alan Green named the Men’s Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his career. LSU’s Gabriel Diaz Freire was the overwhelming choice as the state’s Newcomer of the Year.

Yelamanchili was named the Women’s Player of the Year with LSU Alexandria’s Melinda Descant earning Coach of the Year honors. Louisiana Tech’s Najah Dawson won a close battle for the state’s Newcomer of the Year while Xavier All-American Kareemah Muhammad was tabbed as the Women’s Freshman of the Year.

Perez, an ITA NAIA All-America recipient, posted a 21-1 record during the season playing primarily on the No. 1 court. The senior was ranked No. 2 in singles in the ITA/NAIA national rankings and was 17-4 overall in doubles play. The Pereira, Colombia native became the second Xavier student-athlete to earn ITA NAIA All-America honors four times and was the first player in school history to achieve the No. 1 ranking in the ITA NAIA national polls.

Green, an eight-time LSWA Coach of the Year recipient (five men’s, three women’s), led Xavier to a 20-6 record and a No. 5 ranking in the final NAIA Coaches Poll. The Gold Rush finished in the top-10 in the final NAIA rankings for the national-best 12th consecutive season and posted nine wins against NAIA top-20 ranked teams. Xavier extended its consecutive NAIA streak of top-25 appearances to 123 – the longest among NAIA programs – while earning a 4-3 win over NCAA qualifier and crosstown opponent New Orleans.

Bain, playing primarily at No. 4, was named the ITA NAIA South Region Rookie of the Year after posting a 20-7 record in singles play and 26-9 mark in doubles. The Nassau, Bahamas, native combined with Megh Patel to rank No. 20 nationally in doubles and led the Gold Rush with a combined 46 wins. He teamed with Juan Ramirez during the fall for runner-up finishes at both the ITA NAIA regionals and nationals and defeated Indiana Wesleyan’s 38th-ranked Karl Wurth 6-4, 6-2 at NAIA national quarterfinals.

Diaz Freire, a graduate transfer from Alabama, posted a 23-13 record in singles play and 26-12 record in doubles in his lone season at LSU. The Gijon, Spain, native grabbed six wins in SEC singles play playing on both the No. 3 and 4 courts. His six doubles wins in SEC play led the team and his play was a big part in the Tigers qualifying for the NCAA Tournament and picking up the first tournament win for the program since 2016.

Perez and Diaz Freire were joined on the first team by LSU’s Ronald Hohmann, Fynn Kuenkler of Tulane, Louisiana’s Alejandro Sanchez Gonzalez and New Orleans’ Marcel Volz. Bain, a second-team selection, was joined by teammate Juan Ramirez, UNO’s Max Heinzel and the Ragin’ Cajuns trio of Vasil Dimitrov, Oriol Fillat Gimenez and Calin Postea. Vlad Lobak of LSU and Luka Petrovic of Tulane earned spots on the honorable mention team.

Yelamanchili, a junior from Burr Ridge, Ill., was named the LSWA Women’s Player of the Year after combining for 42 victories during the season (16 in singles, 26 in doubles) while teaming with Charlotte Russell to finish as one of the top NCAA doubles tandems. Yelamanchili was part of the first Tulane doubles team to earn a bid to the NCAA Division I Doubles Championships since Maria and Darya Ivanov in 2005, where she teamed with Russell to reach the Round of 16. The duo finished 29th overall in the ITA NCAA Rankings while Yelamanchili earned All-American Athletic Conference honors and a No. 19 singles ranking in the Southern region.

Descant, a first-time recipient for LSWA Coach of the Year, led LSU Alexandria to its first-ever undefeated regular season while guiding the Generals to their first-ever trip to the NAIA Tournament semifinals and a No. 4 national ranking. The Bunkie, La., native led LSUA to a 19-1 record and the Red River Conference Tournament championship and the No. 3 seed in the NAIA Tournament. She coached a pair of NAIA All-Americans and had all six members of the rotation earn All-RRAC honors. Among the wins during its season were seven against top 25 teams, including six in the top 15.

Muhammad combined for 24 wins in her first season at Xavier and was an ITA NAIA All-America and NAIA second-team All-America recipient. The RRAC Player and Freshman of the Year, the Tustin, Calif., native was the highest-ranked player among NAIA players from Louisiana schools and was an ITA NAIA regional double champion. Muhammad finished 10-4 in singles play for the Gold Nuggets – earning a No. 14 ITA/NAIA national ranking – and was 14-8 with teammate Valaine Clarke in doubles play to rank 14th in the ITA/NAIA rankings.

Dawson, a transfer from St. John’s, helped Louisiana Tech to a program-record 18 wins in the spring and the second-most in program history. She posted a 14-7 record during the spring in dual matches and a 13-10 mark in doubles play during the spring. The Queens. N.Y., native picked up wins on three different lines, going 1-1 at No. 2, 10-4 at No. 3 and 3-2 at No. 4. Dawson provided match-clinching points over Texas State, Arkansas State and New Orleans and played every doubles match from the No. 2 position, putting together 13 wins including a seven-match winning streak.

Yelamanchili was joined by her Tulane doubles’ partner – Russell – on the first team with the Northwestern State tandem of Mariella Minetti and Viktorie Wojchikova, LSU’s Safiya Carrington and Lina Hohnhold of New Orleans also earning first-team honors.

Muhammad and Dawson were joined on the second team by Louisiana Tech’s Ilana Tetruashvili, Alicia Romero Gomez of LSUA and a pair of NAIA All-Americans – Loyola’s Lucy Carpenter and LSUA’s Olivia Scattini. A pair of LSUA performers – Annemart Kleijn and Patricia Martinez Molina – and Tulane’s Jiayun Zhu were honorable mention selections.

For more information on the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, visit the official website at www.lswa.info.

2022 LOUISIANA SPORTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION MEN’S COLLEGE TENNIS TEAM
FIRST TEAM
Gabriel Diaz Freire, LSU
Ronald Hohmann, LSU
Fynn Kuenkler, Tulane
Santiago Perez, Xavier
Alejandro Sanchez Gonzalez, Louisiana
Marcel Volz, New Orleans

SECOND TEAM
Jacobi Bain, Xavier
Vasil Dimitrov, Louisiana
Oriol Fillat Gimenez, Louisiana
Max Heinzel, New Orleans
Calin Postea, Louisiana
Juan Ramirez, Xavier

HONORABLE MENTION
Vlad Lobak, LSU; Luka Petrovic, Tulane.

MEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Santiago Perez, Xavier

MEN’S NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Gabriel Diaz Freire, LSU

MEN’S FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Jacobi Bain, Xavier

MEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR
Alan Green, Xavier

2022 LOUISIANA SPORTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION WOMEN’S COLLEGE TENNIS TEAM
FIRST TEAM
Safiya Carrington, LSU
Lina Hohnhold, New Orleans
Mariella Minetti, Northwestern State
Charlotte Russell, Tulane
Viktorie Wojchikova, Northwestern State
Lahari Yelamanchili, Tulane

SECOND TEAM
Lucy Carpenter, Loyola
Najah Dawson, Louisiana Tech
Kareemah Muhammad, Xavier
Alicia Romero Gomez, LSU Alexandria
Olivia Scattini, LSU Alexandria
Ilana Tetruashvili, Louisiana Tech

HONORABLE MENTION
Annemart Kleijn, LSU Alexandria; Patricia Martinez Molina, LSU Alexandria; Jiayun Zhu Tulane.

WOMEN’S PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Lahari Yelamanchili, Tulane

WOMEN’S NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Najah Dawson, Louisiana Tech

WOMEN’S FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Kareemah Muhammad, Xavier

WOMEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR
Melinda Descant, LSU Alexandria