PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. –  The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced its 2026 Women's Tennis All-SIAC teams and individual honorees on Friday, as voted by the conference's head coaches.
 
Benedict College's Valerie Essome was named First-Team Women's Tennis All-SIAC on Friday, completing a four-year All-Conference sweep.
 
This season, Essome went 11-2 overall at No. 1 singles, and was 9-1 in SIAC play. Her only conference loss was to Sofia Lopez from Edward Waters in the first conference roundup. Essome defeated Lopez in their rematch in the second roundup.
 
Essome was the 2023 SIAC Women's Tennis Freshman of the Year and was First Team in singles. As a sophomore in 2024, she was named First Team All-SIAC, and repeated that honor last year.