Lady Blues' Goldsmith named MIAA's Most Valuable Player
May 1 , 2007

All-MIAA Women's Tennis Team announced

Champion ESU, runner-up WU dominate first-team

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Conference champion Emporia State and runner-up Washburn claimed seven of the nine first-team flights on the All-MIAA Women's Tennis Team as voted by the league's coaches.

The 27th-ranked WU Lady Blues (19-1, 7-0 MIAA) won four flights outright while the ESU Lady Hornets (14-2, 6-1 MIAA) claimed two outright. The two squads tied at No. 1 doubles.

Leading the way for Washburn was junior Diana Goldsmith. The native of St. Ann, Jamaica, and transfer from Johnson County (Kan.) Community College was selected at the conference's Most Valuable Player, earned unanimous selection at No. 1 singles and teamed with senior Julie Huyberechts to share No. 1 doubles recognition with ESU senior Lacey Luina and junior Natalie Villaflor.

Huyberechts earned first-team honors at No. 2 singles as well, while junior Allie Gardner was the unanimous choice at No. 6 singles. The duo of senior Lisa Coleman and junior Audrie Miller were a unanimous selection at No. 3 singles.

Highlighting ESU's first-team choices is senior Karly Schultz. The McPherson, Kan., product was a perfect 14-0 at No. 4 singles and teamed with junior Marcela Bayon to post a 19-1 record at No. 2 doubles -- both earning consensus recognition. Schultz and Bayon's only loss in doubles was to teammates Villaflor and Luina in the ITA regional final last fall.

Schultz also was a first-team choice at No. 4 singles last season.

Sophomores Courtney Walther of Truman (16-9, 2-5 MIAA) at No. 3 singles and Jordan Lipira of Northwest Missouri State (13-7, 4-2 MIAA) at No. 5 singles were the only ones able to breakup the Washburn/ESU domination of the first team. Lipira made the first-team in 2006 as well.

Northwest had four slots on the second-team -- including the unanimous choice for Freshman of the Year, Veronica Castilla, at No. 4 singles along with Lipira at No. 2 doubles. Other Bearcat second-team selections were freshman Lisa Pendrak at No. 6 singles and the No. 3 doubles duo of sophomores Lina Gomez and Emily Lindsay.

ESU's Villaflor and Luina earned second-team nods at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively, and were joined by junior Audrey Sherman at No. 5 singles. Villaflor also earned the Sportsmanship Award.

Junior Michelle Hall of Missouri Southern (5-10, 4-3 MIAA) bounced back from a 1-2 start to win 13 of her last 14 singles matches, including 6-1 in the conference at No. 1 singles, to get second-team honors. She and senior teammate Kristen Meschede also picked up second-team honors at No. 1 doubles.

Washburn head coach Jen Hastert won her fourth MIAA women's Coach of the Year award after guiding the Lady Blues to 19 straight wins to open the season. She also won in 2000, 2003 and 2004 (shared with MSSU's Jane Posch). Hastert earned her second men's Coach of the Year award Monday (April 30).

First Team (Two No. 1 doubles teams selected due to tie in voting)
Fl. Yr. Hometown
+Diana Goldsmith, WU 1S/1D Jr. St. Ann, Jamaica
Julie Huyberechts, WU 2S/1D Sr. Louvain-LaNeuve, Belgium
+Courtney Walther, TSU 3S So. St. Louis, Mo.
+#Karly Schultz, ESU 4S/2D Sr. McPherson, Kan.
Jordan Lipira, NWMSU 5S So. St. Joseph, Mo.
+Allie Gardner, WU 6S Jr. Omaha, Neb.
Natalie Villaflor, ESU 1D Jr. Oklahoma City, Okla.
Lacey Luina, ESU 1D Sr. Lawrence, Kan.
#Marcela Bayon, ESU 2D Jr. Chihuahua, Mexico
#Lisa Coleman, WU 3D Sr. Olathe, Kan.
#Audrie Miller, WU 3D Jr. McPherson, Kan.

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

Second Team
Michelle Hall, MSSU 1S/1D Jr. Lee's Summit, Mo.
Natalie Villaflor, ESU 2S Jr. Oklahoma City, Okla.
Lacey Luina, ESU 3S Sr. Lawrence, Kan.
Veronica Castilla, NWMSU 4S/2D Fr. Puertollano, Spain
Audrey Sherman, ESU 5S Jr. Great Bend, Kan.
Lisa Pendrak, NWMSU 6S Fr. Nevada, Mo.
Kristen Meschede, MSSU 1D Sr. Grain Valley, Mo.
Jordan Lipira, NWMSU 2D So. St. Joseph, Mo.
Lina Gomez, NWMSU 3D So. Barcelona, Spain
Emily Lindsay, NWMSU 3D So. St. Joseph, Mo.

Honorable Mention
Jennifer Salmon, TSU 1S Jr. Cameron, Mo.
Lindsy Blair, TSU 2S So. Pella, Iowa
Amber Raindl, WU 3S/2D Sr. Midland, Texas
Brette Baldwin, FHSU 4S So. Lexington, Neb.
Audrie Miller, WU 4S Jr. McPherson, Kan.
Hannah Wittmer, TSU 4S Sr. Topeka, Kan.
Lauren Harris, WU 5S/2D Jr. Wichita, Kan.
Lauren Skimbo, MSSU 6S Fr. Claremore, Okla.
Michelle Ritter, MWSU 6S So. Savannah, Mo.
Molly Bowman, ESU 3D Jr. Arkansas City, Kan.
Audrey Sherman, ESU 3D Jr. Great Bend, Kan.
(No No. 1 doubles honorable mention team selected)

Most Valuable Player: Diana Goldsmith, WU
Freshman of the Year: Veronica Castilla, NWMSU (unanimous choice)
Sportsmanship Award: Natalie Villaflor, ESU
Coach of the Year: Jen Hastert, WU

Legend: Flights are abbreviated by number and event (e.g., 1S=No. 1 singles, 2D=No. 2 doubles).