Mars Hill’s Pinate Repeats as SAC Women’s Tennis Player of the Year

ROCK HILL, S.C. - The 2012 SAC women's tennis awards were announced on Tuesday, headlined by Mars Hill senior Erika Pinate's selection as the conference's Player of the Year for the second season in a row.

Pinate went a perfect 9-0 in SAC singles competition this season in the No. 1 position for MHC, earning first team All-SAC singles honors. Heading into the 2012 Food Lion SAC Tennis Championship, her overall record stands at 12-4.

Pinate received first team All-SAC doubles accolades as well alongside teammate Tatiana Dualiby. The tandem went 12-4 overall and 6-2 in the conference playing in the No. 1 position.

[RELATED: SAC Tennis Championship Central]

Lincoln Memorial landed a pair of student-athletes on the All-SAC Singles First Team in Leah Donoff and Sofia Lopez-Mimendi. Donoff went 14-3 overall and 8-1 in the league at LMU's No. 1 position, while Mimendi closed the regular season 13-5 overall and 5-4 in conference matches at the No. 2 slot.

Tusculum's Holly Verner earned a spot on the All-SAC Singles First Team, as did Wingate's Ali Evers, Brevard's Claire Dillman and Mars Hill's Dualiby. Each student-athlete recorded at least six singles victories in conference play.

Dualiby, who went 8-1 in the league playing at MHC's No. 2 position, tied with LMU's Mimendi for the final spot on the singles First Team - meaning the Second Team had one fewer opening.

Evers and Becca Thomas - ranked No. 10 in Southeast Region doubles - earned a spot on the doubles First Team along with LMU's duo of Donoff and Mimendi.

Evers and Thomas - who was also named the SAC Freshman of the Year - compiled a SAC record of 7-2, while Donoff and Mimendi went 6-1. Both tandems play No. 1 doubles for their respective team.

Making up the All-SAC Singles Second Team were Thomas, Newberry's Susana Aguirre and Ariel Strong, and Anderson's Avery Owens and Camie Brunet.

The tandems of Brevard's Dillman and Michelle Prata, Tusculum's Verner and Katelyn Doss and Anderson's Brunet and Shelby Anderson comprised the doubles All-Conference Second Team.

Wingate's Michael Cabana was named the SAC Coach of the Year for the second-straight year after leading the Bulldogs to share of the regular-season conference title. WU went 16-4 overall and 8-1 in the SAC.

SAC Player of the Year: Erika Pinate, MHC
SAC Freshman of the Year: Becca Thomas, WU
SAC Coach of the Year: Michael Cabana, WU

2012 All-SAC Women's Tennis Team

First Team

Singles
Erika Pinate, MHC
Leah Donoff, LMU
Holly Verner, TC
Ali Evers, WU
Claire Dillman, BC
Sofia Lopez-Mimendi, LMU*
Tatiana Dualiby, MHC*

Doubles
Ali Evers/Becca Thomas, WU
Leah Donoff/Sofia Lopez-Mimendi, LMU
Erika Pinate/Tatiana Dualiby, MHC

* tied for final first-team singles selection

Second Team

Singles
Becca Thomas, WU
Susana Aguirre, NEW
Ariel Strong, NEW
Avery Owens, AU
Camie Brunet, AU

Doubles
Claire Dillman/Michelle Prata, BC
Katelyn Doss/Holly Verner, TC
Camie Brunet/Shelby Anderson, AU