2020-21 Great Midwest Women's Tennis All-Conference Team



OWENSBORO, Ky. – As four postseason team qualifiers make their way down to Kentucky, the traditional Great Midwest Athletic Conference All-Conference Team was announced for women’s tennis on Thursday afternoon.
 
Sixteen different individuals as voted on by the coaches were recognized on the list for their work on the court in the 2020-21 season.
 
Eight student-athletes were named to the first team and eight more were on the second team. Individual honors, including player of the year, freshman of the year and coach of the year were also released while the regular season championship trophy will also be presented on site.
 
No. 1 Tiffin, No. 2 Walsh, No. 3 Findlay and No. 4 Hillsdale, are preparing to compete in the Great Midwest Championship bracket hosted by Kentucky Wesleyan College at Centre Courts. The semifinals will take place on Friday before the two finalists will battle for the tournament trophy on Saturday.
 
The 2020-21 Great Midwest Player of the Year was Findlay junior Laiying Alvarado. Alvarado has come full circle in her career after being named Great Midwest Freshman of the Year in 2018-19 when teammate Samantha Sweet was crowned top player in the league. She landed on the all-conference first team for the second time.
 
Alvarado was unbeaten in the regular season with an 9-0 singles record, all in the No. 1 playing position for head coach Jeff Westmeyer. Her primary doubles partner in crime was Sweet, as they combined to go 7-3, including a 5-1 mark against conference competition.
 
Alvarado was off to a fantastic start in 2019-20 with a 6-2 record as she established herself at the top of the Oilers’ lineup. She was also 6-3 in doubles with Sweet before COVID shut the season down prematurely. Her career singles record of 31-6 (.838) ranks among the best in Great Midwest history among qualifiers.
 
Cedarville’s Abby Totten was voted as the Great Midwest Freshman of the Year. Her older brother, Alex, is an all-conference performer for the men’s tennis program, and their on-court excellence proved to run in the family.
 
From Normal, Ill., Totten was thrown into the mix at the top of the Yellow Jackets’ lineup right away. She responded with a pair of wins at the No. 1 slot and was 3-1 at No. 2 singles. She formed the top Cedarville doubles tandem with all-conference selection Lauren Hollis as they went 7-6.
 
Tiffin head coach Phil Conley was voted by his peers as Great Midwest Coach of the Year. The 2020-21 season has been a memorable one for the Dragons thus far, as they represent the Great Midwest in the NCAA Midwest Region Rankings under consideration. Tiffin completed an undefeated run in the conference schedule at 6-0 and carry a very impressive 14-2 record along with the No. 1 seed into their semifinals matchup against Hillsdale tomorrow. His roster had the most (5) all-conference selections this season.
 
Walsh finished 5-1 and placed three different players on the all-conference first team, including Nicole Beidacki, Clara Drasch and Maria Kacalova, who each had double-digit victories in singles. The Cavaliers were also able to celebrate their first selection in the sport for the Elite 23 Award, which went to senior Parvanee Karimpour, who is majoring in Biology (Pre-Med).