April 16, 2009

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Miami and Duke, which tied for first place atop the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season tennis standings, lead the 2009 All-ACC team announced today by the league office.

Miami placed four student-athletes on the 18-member team in voting by the league's 12 head coaches, and the Hurricanes' Paige Yaroshuk-Tews was named ACC Coach of the Year.

Duke placed three members on the team, including 2009 ACC Freshman of the Year Mallory Cecil. Clemson's Ani Mijacika was named the ACC Player of the Year.

Georgia Tech matched Duke for second-most honorees with three, while Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina had two apiece. Virgina and Wake Forest each had one student-athlete voted to the team.

Mijacika, a junior from Makarska, Croatia, has been named ACC Player of the Week seven times in her career, including three times this season. Mijacika has been ranked No. 1 in the ITA national rankings much of this season and carries a No. 3 ranking (along with a No. 6 ranking in doubles with partner Keri Wong) into this week's ACC Championships at Cary, N.C. Mijacika stands 28-7 overall in singles play, including a 7-3 mark against ACC foes. This is the second major ACC honor for Mijacika, who was named Freshman of the Year in 2007,

Duke's Cecil,a two-time ACC Player of the Week in 2009, is ranked 16th in the nation and is 10-1 in conference play and 20-3 overall since joining the team in January. The Spartanburg, S.C., native is an impressive 9-3 against nationally-ranked foes during her brief career and twice defeated an opponent ranked No. 1 nationally during the regular season.

Miami's Yaroshuk-Tews, in her eighth season as head coach, is the Hurricanes' all-time leader in women's tennis victories with 156. This year's team carries a 21-3 record into the ACC Championships (Yaroshuk-Tews' best regular-season effort in Coral Gables) and went 10-1 vs. ACC opposition. Miami will be seeded first in the 12-team tournament field and will receive a first-round bye as play gets under way today.

Follow all the ACC Championships action at:

http://www.theacc.com/championships/09-tennis-championship.html

2009 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Tennis Team
Josipa Bek, Freshman, Clemson
Ani Mijacika, Junior, Clemson*
Mallory Cecil, Freshman, Duke
Ella Nze, Sophomore, Duke*
Reka Zsilinszka, Sophomore, Duke*
Katie Rybakova, Sophomore, Florida State*
Noemie Scharle, Freshman, Florida State
Irina Falconi, Freshman, Georgia Tech
Noelle Hickey, Sophomore, Georgia Tech
Amanda McDowell, Junior, Georgia Tech*
Julia Cohen, Sophomore, Miami
Bianca Eichkorn, Sophomore, Miami
Michaela Kissell, Sophomore, Miami
Laura Vallverdu, Junior, Miami*
Sanaz Marand, Junior, North Carolina*
Katrina Tsang, Junior, North Carolina*
Emily Fraser, Freshman, Virginia
Sasha Kulikova, Junior, Wake Forest*

Player of the Year: Ani Mijacika, Clemson

Freshman of the Year: Mallory Cecil, Duke

Coach of the Year: Paige Yaroshuk-Tews, Miami

*Denotes repeat All-ACC honoree