Rojas wins third straight SoCon Coach of the Year honor

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (April 19, 2023) – After five long years, Laylo has finally won the big one.

The Southern Conference announced its women’s tennis postseason awards on Wednesday afternoon in Chattanooga, officially naming ETSU’s Laylo Bakhodirova (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) as the SoCon Player of the Year.  

Bakhodirova, a fifth-year senior, has played No. 1 singles for ETSU since 2019. Coming off her best season yet, the 2023 SoCon MVP has a career record of 61-34 — including a 17-3 record at No. 1 singles this season. She ended the season on an eight-match winning streak and finished perfect against the best from the SoCon with a 7-0 league record. 

🚨 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 🚨

We're so proud to announce that fifth-year senior Laylo Bakhodirova is the 2023 Southern Conference 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 as voted by the league's head coaches!

We are so proud of you Laylo!#ETSUTough pic.twitter.com/UqEzePW4Py

— ETSU Women's Tennis (@ETSU_WTennis) April 19, 2023

In addition to Bakhodirova, ETSU head coach Ricky Rojas was honored as the 2023 SoCon Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year for the third straight season. Rojas is the first head coach to win back-to-back-to-back SoCon Coach of the Year honors since Furman Hall of Famer Debbie Southern, who won it seven times from 2003-09.

Rojas led ETSU to its 20th consecutive winning season — the last seven of which came under his watch. Rojas now has a career record of 95-58 in seven seasons leading the women’s program. Combined with his wins while leading the men’s program for a short stint in 2017, Rojas notched his 100th career victory as a head coach this season against UNCG.

🚨 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐑𝐎𝐖 🚨

We're excited to announce that Coach Ricky Rojas has been voted the Southern Conference 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫!

Ricky is the first head coach to win three times in a row since 2009. Congrats, Coach!#ETSUTough pic.twitter.com/bjQ0VzmfuX

— ETSU Women's Tennis (@ETSU_WTennis) April 19, 2023

In total, ETSU had four players earn honors from the Southern Conference. 

Joining Bakhodirova on the all-conference first team was redshirt junior Maria Fernanda Carvajal (Queretaro, Mexico), who finished with a 14-6 overall record in singles and a flawless 7-0 record in conference play. Carvajal won her lone match at No. 2 singles and went 13-4 in the No. 3 spot, while ending the season on a four-match winning streak. Carvajal and Bakhodirova were two of six players on the all-conference first team. 

Earning second team all-conference honors was sophomore Daniela Rivera (Maturin, Venezuela), who had an outstanding 18-3 record between No. 4 and No. 5 singles and finished 7-0 in SoCon matches. Rivera is riding a 10-match win streak into this week’s tournament. She finished with a 9-2 record in the fourth spot and a 9-1 record in the fifth spot.

The SoCon honored four pairings on the first team all-conference doubles list, with ETSU owning two of the four spots. Bakhodirova and first flight partner Mariya Shumeika (Minsk, Belarus) were honored as first team all-conference with a 14-7 doubles record in the top flight and a 5-2 record in the SoCon. Meanwhile, the pairing of Carvajal and Rivera were also honored after going 15-4 overall and 6-0 in the SoCon from the No. 2 spot.

_____________________________________________________________ 

2023 Southern Conference Player of the Year

Laylo Bakhodirova, Sr., ETSU

2023 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year

Isabella Sambola, Western Carolina

2023 Southern Conference Coach of the Year

Ricky Rojas, ETSU

2023 Southern Conference Sportsmanship Award

Breda Brennan, So., Wofford

2023 All-Southern Conference Women’s Tennis

First team

Singles

Laylo Bakhodirova, ETSU

Maria Fernanda Carvajal, ETSU

Ellie Schulson, Furman

Teodora Ristic, Mercer

Mary Weston Courville, Mercer

Alexis Lopez, Samford

Doubles

Laylo Bakhodirova/Mariya Shumeika, ETSU

Maria Fernanda Carvajal/Daniela Rivera, ETSU

Jess Dawson/Sara Snyder, Furman

Mary Weston Courville/Teodora Ristic, Mercer

Second team

Singles (by position)

No. 1 – Jessie Young, Chattanooga

No. 2 – Breda Brennan, Wofford

No. 3 – Brianna Wilbur, Wofford

No. 4 – Rozalie Dohnalova, Chattanooga

No. 5 – Daniela Rivera, ETSU

No. 6 – Luca Victoria Vocke, Furman

Doubles

No. 1 – Caroline Gibbens/Jessie Young, Chattanooga

No. 2 – Rozalie Dohnalova/Lucia Melendez, Chattanooga

No. 3 – Jade Groen/Andrea Redondo, Western Carolina

All-Freshman

Luca Victoria Vocke, Furman

Marina de Diego Quinones, Mercer

Cameron Rogin, Samford

Jade Groen, Western Carolina

Leilany Ipunesso, Western Carolina

Isabella Sambola, Western Carolina

_____________________________________________________________ 

ETSU will begin SoCon tournament play tomorrow at 3 p.m. against No. 7 Western Carolina in the quarterfinal round. For more information on this weekend’s tournament, including the bracket, directions to the Champions Club, tournament history and much more, click here. 

For the latest information on Buccaneer women’s tennis, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s tennis page.

Congrats to our first team all-conference singles players — Laylo and Fernanda 👏

Incredible seasons for both players!#ETSUTough pic.twitter.com/uMzFNhJgad

— ETSU Women's Tennis (@ETSU_WTennis) April 19, 2023

Congrats to our second team all-conference selection at No. 5 singles - Daniela Rivera!

Like Fernanda and Laylo, Daniela had a perfect record in SoCon matches this season. She also has an 18-3 overall record and a 10-match win streak 👏#ETSUTough pic.twitter.com/plOxbyxJwK

— ETSU Women's Tennis (@ETSU_WTennis) April 19, 2023

🚨 𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎 🚨

ETSU had two of the four doubles teams on the all-conference first team list. Congrats to these four ladies on making the dream work with team work!

Mariya Shumeika/Laylo Bakhodirova
Daniela Rivera/Maria Fernanda Carvajal#ETSUTough pic.twitter.com/AuVYC7faZe

— ETSU Women's Tennis (@ETSU_WTennis) April 19, 2023