Watch here: Katie Le Talks About Being the WCC Player of the Year
Santa Clara, Calif.— Setting the tone from the start of the fall season, Santa Clara University sophomore Katie Le was named the 2012 West Coast Conference Player of the Year on Wednesday. Based on overall season performance and the results from the WCC Championships, the Santa Clara women's tennis team collected four West Coast Conference honors from the WCC coaches' vote as well.
In addition to Le being named Player of the Year, three Broncos also grabbed All-WCC honors. The team captain for three seasons, senior Kacie Wagner, was named Honorable Mention in singles. Le also was named All-WCC First Team for singles, and Jessica Agra and Le were selected All-WCC First Team for doubles.
In just her second season as a Bronco, Le continued to raise the bar by collecting the WCC Player of the Year and All-WCC First Team honors for both her singles and doubles play. It's the first time in school history a player has been named the WCC Player of the Year and received First Team Honors in both singles and doubles. Le ended the 2012 regular season with an 18-5 record, playing every match at the No. 1 singles spot for the Broncos. Le was also named WCC Player of the Month in March after stringing together a 10-match winning streak. Le has been nationally ranked by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association throughout the 2011-12 season and currently stands as the No. 49 singles player in the country, as of April 24. Her highest ranking this season reached the No. 38 singles spot.
"I'm really excited about being named WCC Player of the Year because I've been working really hard all season long. It feels great to see my hard work pay off and be recognized for my efforts," Le said. "It's an honor, especially with the type of competition we play in the WCC."
Le is just the second SCU women's tennis player to be named WCC Player of the Year in the program's history. In 2003, Christina Limbers was the first Bronco to be named WCC Player of the Year. Le was the WCC Freshman of the Year last season.
In addition to her honors on the court, last week Le was named to the WCC All-Academic First Team as she maintains a 3.81 GPA in computer engineering.
"Katie has worked really hard over the two years she's been at Santa Clara. She came in as a great player, winning WCC Freshman of the Year in 2011, and has improved greatly since she's been here," said Bronco head coach Ben Cabell. "The whole team is really proud of her accomplishments, and we know she will continue to thrive over the next couple of years."
In her final season on the women's tennis team, Wagner has been the captain three straight years. This year she was recognized as an All-WCC Honorable Mention selection for her singles performance and also picked up a WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention for her high achievements in the classroom. Wagner went 9-11 in regular season singles competition at the No. 3, 4, 5 and 6 positions for the Broncos. In doubles, she started off the season with partner Alex Zaniewski, posting a 4-5 record overall. Then at the No. 2 position with partner Kelly Lamble, Wagner went 6-5 to end her final season as a Bronco.
"Kacie has been an incredible player for us and has had a huge impact over the last four years as a three-year captain for the women's tennis program here at Santa Clara. Her honors show that the other WCC coaches recognize her achievements as a player individually and as a strong leader for our team. Next year won't be the same without her," said Cabell.
As a junior, Agra ended the 2012 season with an overall doubles record of 10-12 at the No. 1 position with Le for the Broncos team. The duo won key doubles matches in the WCC Championships over No. 4 seed LMU and No. 8 seed Gonzaga. Agra also competed at the No. 4, 5, 6 singles position throughout the season.
"I am proud of Jessica and Katie for being recognized for All-WCC First Team for doubles. They are a great duo and have earned the respect from the rest of the WCC coaches," said Cabell.
Below is the full list of All-WCC First and Second Team members in singles and doubles, including honorable mention:
2012 WCC Women's Tennis Postseason Award Winners
WCC Player of the Year: Katie Le, Santa Clara
WCC Freshman of the Year: Lorraine Guillermo, Pepperdine
WCC Coach of the Year: Sherri Stephens, San Diego
All-WCC First Team Singles
Anna Depenau, San Diego
Catherine Isip, Saint Mary's
Jenny Jullien, Saint Mary's
Juliette Coupez, San Diego
Katie Le, Santa Clara
Khunpak Issara, Pepperdine
All-WCC Second Team Singles
Ale Granillo, Pepperdine
Anna Chkhikvishvili, Saint Mary's
April Bisharat, Loyola Marymount
Desiree Tran, BYU
Lorraine Guillermo, Pepperdine
Tory Parravi, Loyola Marymount
Honorable Mention: Ali Walters, PEP; Arianna Colffer, PEP; Julia Wartenburger, USF; Kacie Wagner, SCU; Kristina Zauere, GON; Laura Claus, USD; Megan Price, BYU; Meghan Sheehan-Dizon, BYU; Morgan Anderson, BYU; Nastya Polyakova, POR; Valeska Hoath, POR
All-WCC First Team Doubles
Anna Depenau/Maja Sujica, San Diego
Khunpak Issara/Lorraine Guillermo, Pepperdine
Jessica Agra/Katie Le, Santa Clara
All-WCC Second Team Doubles
Anna Chkhikvishvili/Catherine Isip, Saint Mary's
Jade Frampton/Jenny Jullien, Saint Mary's
Juliette Coupez/Laura Claus, San Diego
Honorable Mention: Ali Walters/Arianna Colffer; PEP, April Bisharat/Claudia Razzeto, LMU; Ashley Anderson/Tory Parravi, LMU; Katie Edwards/Kristina Zauere, GON; Megan Price/Meghan Sheehan-Dizon, BYU
GO BRONCOS!
