KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announces its All-MIAA Teams and Postseason Awards for the 2023 women’s tennis season.
 
Washburn’s Sonia Smagina was tabbed the Association’s Player of the Year, Missouri Western’s Lucia Casas Blas was named the MIAA Freshman of the Year and Nebraska Kearney’s Melisa Becerra was honored with the MIAA Sportsmanship Award. Northwest Missouri’s Head Coach Mark Rosewell was voted the MIAA Coach of the Year by his peers.
 
Washburn’s Sonia Smagina was the only player to go undefeated against league opponents in the 2023 season to be crowned the Player of the Year and an unanimous First Team All-MIAA section at No. 1 singles. A senior transfer from Kansas University, Smagina finished regular season competition with an overall record of 17-1 and 8-0 in the MIAA. The international student-athlete from Penza, Russia, also teamed up with Maja Jung to finish a flawless 8-0 in the MIAA at No. 1 doubles. The duo was named the unanimous First Team All-MIAA select at No. 1 doubles.
 
Missouri Western’s Lucia Casas Bias, the 2023 Freshman of the Year, is a first-year on the Griffon tennis team from Madrid, Spain. She ranked second on the team in wins 10, ending the regular season 10-2 overall singles record and a 5-2 performance in the MIAA. Competing at singles positions 4-6, Casas Bias earned Second Team All-MIAA honors at No. 4 singles. She also owns a 7-3 record in doubles contests and finished 4-2 in the league. Casas Bias and Ariella Curci earned All-MIAA Honorable Mention honors at No. 3 doubles.
 
Nebraska Kearney’s Melisa Becerra earned the Association’s 2023 Sportsmanship Award. The Lopers No. 1 singles player ended regular season competition with a league record of 5-3 and 15-8 overall. The junior from Bucaramanga, Colombia also posted a record of 14-7. Playing with teammates Jazmin Zamorano and Narindra Ranaivo, Becerra owned a 6-2 MIAA record. She and Zamorano earned Second Team All-MIAA honors at No. 1 doubles.
 
Northwest Missouri Head Coach Mark Rosewell tabbed the MIAA/GAC Coach of the Year award for the 29th time in his career (men’s and women’s). In his 41st season at Northwest, Rosewell led the Bearcat women to an undefeated record in the league and clinched the program’s first regular season title since 2010. It Rosewell’s 13th regular season championship.
 
The awards were nominated and voted on by all nine MIAA head coaches. Below is a complete list of the 2023 MIAA women’s tennis postseason awards and All-MIAA teams.
 
The 2023 MIAA Women’s Championship is set to begin Friday, April 21 at Edmond Center Court in Edmond, Oklahoma. For more information on the 2023 MIAA Women’s Tennis Championship, visit the championship central page.

2023 All-MIAA Women’s Tennis Teams and Postseason Awards
Player of the Year – Sonia Smagina – Washburn 
Freshman of the Year – Lucia Casas Blas – Missouri Western 
Sportsmanship Award – Melisa Becerra – Nebraska Kearney
Coach of the Year – Mark Rosewell – Northwest Missouri 

First Team
No. 1 Singles – Sonia Smagina (Washburn)#
No. 2 Singles – Maja Jung (Washburn) and Tyffanie Pais (Northwest Missouri)*
No. 3 Singles – Narindra Ranaivo (Nebraska Kearney)
No. 4 Singles – Nikki Boyar (Central Oklahoma)
No. 5 Singles – Valeria Teran (Northeastern State)
No. 6 Singles – Carolina Lima De Oliveira (Northwest Missouri)
No. 1 Doubles – Sonia Smagina/Maja Jung (Washburn)# 
No. 2 Doubles – Tessa Kwakernaak/Vera Alenicheva (Northwest Missouri)  
No. 3 Doubles – Angela Per Moreno/Tyffaine Pais (Northwest Missouri)  
#Reflects Unanimous Selection
*Reflects Ties in Voting

Second Team
No. 1 Singles – Vera Alenicheva (Northwest Missouri)
No. 2 Singles – Jazmin Zamorano (Nebraska Kearney)
No. 3 Singles – Tessa Kwakernaak (Northwest Missouri)
No. 4 Singles – Lucia Casas Blas (Missouri Western)
No. 5 Singles – Anais Peralta Criado (Missouri Western)
No. 6 Singles – Sandra Mari Marti (Northeastern State)
No. 1 Doubles – Melisa Becerra/Jazmin Zamorano (Nebraska Kearney)  
No. 2 Doubles – Issabella Pensavalle/Isabella Martensson (Washburn)  
No. 3 Doubles – Casie Curry/Marta Torres (Washburn)  

Honorable Mention
No. 1 Singles – Izzi MacGibbon (Missouri Western), Emilia Cosatto (Northeastern State)
No. 2 Singles – Pete Komada (Central Oklahoma), Anya Chavez (Missouri Western), Alisha Moldakhmetova (Northeastern State)
No. 3 Singles – Nefeli Zafeiri (Central Oklahoma), Leah Gonzales-Edwards (Northeastern State), Marta Torres (Washburn)
No. 4 Singles – Lexi Bernthal (Nebraska Kearney), Carolina Caetano Reis (Northwest Missouri)
No. 5 Singles – Masha Hatouka (Nebraska Kearney), Angela Per Moreno (Northwest Missouri), Casie Curry (Washburn)
No. 6 Singles – Karyna Yurchenko (Central Oklahoma), Nicole Donnelly (Missouri Western), Issabella Pensavalle (Washburn)
No. 1 Doubles – Blythe Buntrock/Nikki Boyar (Central Oklahoma), Nicole Donnelly/Anya Chavez (Missouri Western), Emilia Cosatto/Alisha Moldakhmetova (Northeastern State), Carolina Caetano Reis/Sofia Pignataro (Northwest Missouri)  
No. 2 Doubles – Pete Komada/Nefeli Zafeiri (Central Oklahoma), Izzi MacGibbon/Anais Peralta Criado (Missouri Western), Isabela Campos Bifano/Dana Issabbayeva (Newman)  
No. 3 Doubles – Ariella Curci/Lucia Casas Blas (Missouri Western), Belinda Jayaprakash/Roos Karremans (Northeastern State), Nicole Bono/Antonia Ramos (Newman)