Parra Romero Named ASUN Freshman of Year, Liberty Features 4 in Postseason Honors
4/21/2022 3:38:21 PM | Women's Tennis
Four Liberty Lady Flames women’s tennis players received awards in the 2022 ASUN Conference Women’s Tennis Postseason Honors & Awards, led by ASUN Freshman of the Year Maria Juliana Parra Romero.
In addition to her major award, Parra Romero is also the first freshman in school history to be selected to the ASUN All-Conference first team, and she is also an ASUN All-Freshman team recipient. Joining Parra Romero on the first team listing is sophomore Esther Lovato, giving the Lady Flames two first team honorees for the first time in program history. Lovato also earned a spot on the ASUN All-Academic team for her efforts in the classroom
Sophomore Tiffany Nguyen has been tabbed to the ASUN All-Conference second team for a second straight season. Finally, sophomore Micaela Ode Mitre garnered ASUN All-Academic team distinction for the first time in her career. Liberty was the only team in the conference to feature multiple ASUN All-Academic team members.
Stetson led all teams with five all-conference recipients, followed by Liberty (3), North Florida (2), FGCU (1), Central Arkansas (1) and Kennesaw State (1).
No. 4 seed Liberty (17-7) will begin ASUN Championship play on Friday morning versus No. 5 seed Central Arkansas (12-10). Match time between the Lady Flames and Bears is 9 a.m. at the FGCU Tennis Complex in Fort Myers, Fla.
Maria Juliana Parra Romero
Parra Romero is the first ASUN Freshman of the Year in program history, fourth conference freshman of the year in school history and first since 2011. Parra Romero joins Jonita Randolph (2004), Jordan Jenkins (2008) and Cameron Richard (2011), who all earned Big South Freshman of the Year honors.
Parra Romero was named ASUN Player of the Week on Feb. 22. The Bucaramanga, Colombia native is 15-3 in spring singles matches and has 10 doubles victories as well. She is 10-2 in the No. 1 singles slot and has a pair of six-match winning streaks this spring. Overall, Parra Romero is 26-5 in singles between fall and spring matches to share the team lead with Lovato. Both Parra Romero and Lovato are two wins away form matching the school record of 28, set by Jenkins in 2010.
Esther Lovato
Lovato is receiving all-conference recognition for the second straight year after earning second team honors a season ago. This is her first career first team all-conference award. The Austin, Texas native leads the squad with 17 spring singles victories and is a perfect 14-0 in the No. 4 slot. Lovato had a 15-match winning streak from Feb. 12-April 14 and finished the regular season with a 7-1 ASUN mark. The sophomore has three doubles victories this spring as well.
Lovato holds a 3.97 GPA as a sport management major. She is a two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete and has garnered two ASUN Academic Honor Roll distinctions.
Tiffany Nguyen
This is Nguyen’s second straight ASUN All-Conference second team recognition, as she received the same honor a season ago.
The Thu Dat Mot, Vietnam native leads all Liberty players with 15 spring doubles wins (8-4 No. 1, 1-1 No. 2 and 6-1 No. 3), including a 6-2 ASUN doubles mark. Nguyen is 4-1 in the No. 1 slot with Parra Romero and 6-1 in the No. 3 slot with current partner Ode Mitre. In singles, Nguyen sports an 11-3 mark and holds a perfect 9-0 record in the No. 5 slot. She finished the regular season with a 5-2 record in ASUN matches.
Micaela Ode Mitre
Ode Mitre, who hails from Lima, Peru, carries a 3.87 GPA as a business administration major. She is a two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete and two-time ASUN Academic Honor Roll recipient.
On the court, Ode Mitre is 12-3 in singles this spring, including a 10-1 mark in the No. 6 slot and 6-1 ASUN record. The sophomore is 11-5 in doubles during dual match competition with eight of those victories coming alongside Nguyen (8-2 record).
2022 ASUN Conference Women’s Tennis Postseason Honors & Awards
Unanimous Player of the Year: Kit Gulihur, North Florida
Unanimous Doubles Pair of the Year: Kit Gulihur and Ana Paula Melilo, North Florida
Freshman of the Year: Maria Juliana Parra Romero, Liberty
Coach of the Year: Travis Sandlant, Stetson
ASUN First Team All-Conference
*Kit Gulihur, North Florida, Sr.
Fuka Nonoyama, Central Arkansas, Jr.
Kat Muzik, Kennesaw State, Gr.
Esther Lovato, Liberty, So.
Maria Juliana Parra Romero, Liberty, Fr.
Alanna DiFrancesco, Stetson, Fr.
Nadejda Maslova, Stetson, So.
ASUN Second Team All-Conference
Fanny Norin, FGCU, So.
Tiffany Nguyen, Liberty, So.
Annabelle Davis, North Florida, So.
Noa Cohen, Stetson, Jr.
Cheri Darley, Stetson, Fr.
Anais Gabriel, Stetson, Sr.
ASUN All-Freshman Team
*Maria Juliana Parra Romero, Liberty
*Isabella Colmenares, FGCU
*Cheri Darley, Stetson
Ekaterina Tikhonko, Bellarmine
Anslee Long, North Florida
Isabel Oliveira, North Florida
* - Denotes a unanimous selection
** - A tie in voting resulted in a seven-person first team
2022 ASUN Conference Women’s Tennis All-Academic Team
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Kit Gulihur, North Florida
2022 ASUN Conference All-Academic Team
*Kit Gulihur, North Florida, Sr.
Fuka Nonoyama, Central Arkansas, Sr.
Emma Bardet, FGCU, Jr.
Esther Lovato, Liberty, So.
Micaela Ode Mitre, Liberty, So.
Elodie Foster, Stetson, So.