PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. –
Valerie Essome of Benedict has been named the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Women's Tennis Freshman of the Year.
SIAC Freshman of the Year,
Valerie Essome, had an exceptional freshman year with the Tigers. The Douala, Cameroon native went 15-2 overall at No. 1 singles as a freshman, and 12-2 in SIAC play. The Tigers of Benedict enter the tournament at the No. 4 seed.
Joining Essome on the SIAC All-Conference First Team is teammate
Sofia Gomez. Gomez went 12-2 overall in singles play, primarily at No. 3 singles.
Natalya Ogunwale of Albany State was named SIAC Women's Tennis Player of the Year and Albany State's head coach Jo Ann Matthews was named 2023 SIAC Coach of the Year.
The honors, announced Saturday, were determined by votes from the league's head coaches and sports information directors.
Ogunwale has built an impressive 14-1 record in conference play at No. 1 spot. The freshman from Epsom, UK has been instrumental in the Golden Rams 16-6 overall record and 12-4 record in conference going into the tournament. Ogunwale partnered with doubles teammate Asia Raulerson to earn a 12-1 record in conference play and receive all-conference honors.
The Elite 14 award recognized the student-athlete who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the SIAC championship level in his or her sport while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. Shereese Henry of Clark Atlanta is the recipient of this year's Elite 14 award.
The 2023 SIAC Women's Tennis Championship is set to take place April 15-16 at Peachtree Tennis Center in Peachtree City, Ga. More information about the championship tournament can be found
here.
Player of the Year
Natalya Ogunwale, Albany State
Freshman of the Year
Valerie Essome, Benedict
Coach of the Year
Jo Ann Matthews, Albany State
Elite 14 Honoree
Shereese Henry (Clark Atlanta, 3.97)
Women's Tennis
All-Conference Team
| Singles |
| Valerie Essome |
Benedict |
Freshman |
Douala, Cameroon |
| Natalya Ogunwale |
Albany State |
Freshman |
Epsom, UK |
| Asia Raulerson |
Albany State |
Junior |
Clermont, FL |
| Sofia Gomez |
Benedict |
Senior |
Cargato, Costa Rica |
| Gabrielle Blanks |
Clark Atlanta |
Freshman |
Atlanta, GA |
| Chido Chimbetete |
LeMoyne-Owen |
Sophomore |
Kwekwe, Zimbabwe |
| Doubles |
| Natalya Ogunwale/Asia Raulerson |
Albany State |
Freshman/Junior |
Epsom, UK/Clermont, FL |
| Gabrielle Blanks/Madison Moffatt |
Clark Atlanta |
Freshman/Junior |
Atlanta, GA/Las Vegas, NV |
| Taylor Frierson/Chido Chimbetete |
LeMoyne-Owen |
Junior/Sophomore |
Memphis, TN/Kwekwe, Zimbabwe |
