Lady Blues land 1 on all-MIAA first team, 1 on second team

For immediate release - April 27
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- The Washburn Lady Blues, who will find out their regional placements later Wednesday afternoon, placed only one Lady Blues on the first team all-MIAA team and only one on the all-MIAA second team. Sophomore Julie Huyberechts was voted to the first team by the MIAA coaches and senior Kris Castillo received second team honors at No. 6 singles. The Lady Blues (20-4), who finished second at the MIAA Tournament, will likely host an NCAA North Central Regional pod May 6-7.

The Lady Blues had five team members named to the honorable mention squad in freshman Alicia Garnder at No. 4 singles, the doubles duo of Castillo and Huyberechts were honored at No. 2 doubles and the No. 3 freshman combo of Lauren Harris and Alex Rodenbeek.

The MIAA champion Emporia State Lady Hornets had five players earn first-team recognition on the 2004-05 All-MIAA Women's Tennis Team by a vote of the coaches.

Three singles players from ESU (22-3, 6-0 MIAA) made the first team, with two of them -- freshman No. 2 Natalie Villaflor and senior No. 4 Lauren Oakleaf -- unanimous choices at their flights. They were joined by sophomore No. 6 Karly Schultz as singles honorees.

Schultz and freshman Marcela Bayon were unanimous selections at No. 2 doubles, while Oakleaf and junior Annie Booth at No. 3 also made the top squad.

The only other unanimous choice to the first team was junior Gena Lindsey of Northwest Missouri State (17-10, 4-2 MIAA) at No. 1 singles. The St. Joseph, Mo., native also picked up Most Valuable Player honors and shared the Sportsmanship Award with senior Abby Souders of Truman (13-8, 2-4 MIAA).

Lindsey, also a first-team No. 1 doubles choice with junior partner Erica Ramirez, posted an 18-3 record in singles this season, and was 6-0 against MIAA foes in the regular season.

Rounding out the first team are sophomore Julie Huyberechts of Washburn (17-4, 5-1 MIAA) and senior Lacey McMunn of Missouri Southern (8-11, 3-3 MIAA) at No. 3 singles and Northwest senior Raven Herner at No. 5 singles.

ESU's Bayon, also a second-team selection at No. 1 singles, shared Freshman of the Year honors with Tammy Liebersbach of Missouri Western (12-14, 0-6 MIAA). Bayon was 20-5 in singles this season, while Liebersbach was 20-9 playing singles and helped the Griffons improve from a 1-15 record last season.

Shawn Siegele was the choice of his peers as Coach of the Year, after leading the Lady Hornets to their first MIAA title and first berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament.

First Team (Two No. 3 singles selected due to tie in voting)
Fl. Yr. Hometown
+Gena Lindsey, NWMSU 1S/1D Jr. St. Joseph, Mo.
+Natalie Villaflor, ESU 2S Fr. Oklahoma City, Okla.
Julie Huybrechts, WU 3S So. Louvain-LaNeuve, Belgium
Lacey McMunn, MSSU 3S Sr. Parsons, Kan.
+Lauren Oakleaf, ESU 4S/3D Sr. Independence, Kan.
Raven Herner, NWMSU 5S Sr. St. Joseph, Mo.
#Karly Schultz, ESU 6S/2D So. McPherson, Kan.
Erica Ramirez, NWMSU 1D Jr. St. Petersburg, Fla.
#Marcela Bayon, ESU 2D Fr. Chihuahua, Mexico
Annie Booth, ESU 3D Jr. Goddard, Kan.

+=Unanimous selection in singles
#=Unanimous selection in doubles

Second Team (Two No. 6 singles selected due to tie in voting)
Marcela Bayon, ESU 1S Fr. Chihuahua, Mexico
Michelle Hall, MSSU 2S Fr. Lee's Summit, Mo.
Lacey Luina, ESU 3S/1D So. Lawrence, Kan.
Lauren Hodson, SBU 4S/2D Fr. Bolivar, Mo.
Annie Booth, ESU 5S Jr. Goddard, Kan.
Kris Castillo, WU 6S Sr. San Antonio, Texas
Ashton Lawrence, MSSU 6S Fr. Parsons, Kan.
Natalie Villaflor, ESU 1D Fr. Oklahoma City, Okla.
Valerie Jones, SBU 2D Jr. Wichita, Kan.
Raven Herner, NWMSU 3D Sr. St. Joseph, Mo.
Amanda Hardie, NWMSU 3D Fr. Chillicothe, Mo.

Honorable Mention
Barb Gombosi, MSSU 1S/1D So. Maribor, Slovenia
Abby Souders, TSU 2S/1D Sr. Rosemount, Minn.
Carolina Amaral, NWMSU 3S Fr. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Valerie Jones, SBU 3S Jr. Wichita, Kan.
Tammy Liebersbach, MWSC 3S Fr. Mandan, N.D.
Alicia Gardner, WU 4S Fr. Omaha, Neb.
Kristine Grajo, TSU 5S Jr. Ballwin, Mo.
Lynne Klaasen, SBU 5S/3D Jr. Kulis River, South Africa
Danielle Cartier, NWMSU 6S So. Lake Lotawanna, Mo.
Michelle Hall, MSSU 1D Fr. Lee's Summit, Mo.
Melissa Dudak, TSU 1D Sr. Chicago, Ill.
Lacey McMunn, MSSU 2D Sr. Parsons, Kan.
Kristen Meschede, MSSU 2D So. Grain Valley, Mo.
Kris Castillo, WU 2D Sr. San Antonio, Texas
Julie Huybrechts, WU 2D So. Louvain-LaNeuve, Belgium
Erin Fritz, MSSU 3D So. Kimberling City, Mo.
Ashton Lawrence, MSSU 3D Fr. Parsons, Kan.
Stephanie Janzekovich, SBU 3D Fr. Bolivar, Mo.
Lauren Harris, WU 3D Fr. Wichita, Kan.
Alex Rodenbeek, WU 3D Fr. Salina, Kan.

Most Valuable Player: Gena Lindsey, NWMSU

Co-Freshmen of the Year:
Marcela Bayon, ESU & Tammy Liebersbach, MWSC

Sportsmanship Awards:
Gena Lindsey, NWMSU & Abby Souders, TSU

Coach of the Year: Shawn Siegele, ESU