2017 G-MAC Women's Tennis All-Conference Team (PDF)

INDIANAPOLIS - All four competing institutions were represented as the 2017 Women's Tennis All-Great Midwest Athletic Conference First Team was announced on Friday morning before the start of the postseason tournament.

Eight total student-athletes comprised the first-team ballot as decided by the coaches and they were recognized in front of their peers during a Thursday night ice cream social on the campus of Cedarville University, serving as host again.

The G-MAC Championship semifinals will get underway this morning starting at 10 a.m. EST at the Johnson-Murdoch Complex and continue through tomorrow (weather permitting).

G-MAC Commissioner Tom Daeger was on site to present the league's annual awards.

The G-MAC Player of the Year, G-MAC Freshman of the Year and G-MAC Coach of the Year, were also unveiled.

In her first year with the program, Davis & Elkins sophomore Laura Fermosel was pronounced the conference player of the year. The Spaniard newcomer from Colmenar Viejo transferred in from Gardner Webb University and responded with a 19-3 record in singles and 14-8 record in doubles.

Fermosel manned the top of the D&E rotation for the top-seeded Senators, who are aiming for their third conference title in five years. She was a G-MAC Athlete of the Month during the fall and a two-time G-MAC Athlete of the Week in the spring season. Fermosel led the conference in total singles victories.

Earning G-MAC Freshman of the Year honors was Cedarville rookie Janelle English. English topped all players in singles winning percentage, going an impressive 16-2 with a .889 success clip.

The first-year student-athlete from Morgantown, WV., earned league athlete of the week status in mid-March. She was also a combined 12-6 in doubles action while working primarily with teammate Halie Hardwick.

The tennis enthusiast would love to see a potential matchup between the award winners Fermosel and English on Saturday if both teams were to advance to the final. Fermosel has been matched up against Cedarville Lauren Jackson twice this season.

Coach of the year plaudits went to D&E's Otis Cutshaw, who navigated his program to another undefeated run through the conference schedule for the second year in a row. Davis & Elkins was 12-10 overall and 6-0 in league play.

Additional first-team all-conference members included Cedarville sophomore Rosie Thompson, who went 15-2 in singles and collected a conference athlete of the week award. Alderson Broaddus was represented with a pair of underclassmen, Eva Sever and Rhea John. Kentucky Wesleyan's Elizabeth Clayton has been serving as the Panthers' No. 1 player the entire season as the freshman earned her first all-conference award. Two more D&E student-athletes made the list as Elise Simon, last year's G-MAC Freshman of the Year, repeated, and senior Haileigh Carper earned all-conference honors.