Parra Romero Named VaSID Rookie of Year, Liberty Features 3 on All-State Teams

Liberty’s Maria Juliana Parra Romero has been named the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) University Division Women’s Tennis Rookie of the Year. Parra Romero, along with teammates Esther Lovato and Tiffany Nguyen, each earned spots on the VaSID All-State teams as well.

Parra Romero becomes the second VaSID Rookie of the Year in program history, joining Jordan Jenkins (2008). The freshman standout from Bucaramanga, Colombia also earned VaSID All-State singles first team honors.

Lovato earns VaSID All-State singles second team honors for the third straight year, making history in the process. The Austin, Texas, native is the first player in Liberty women’s tennis history to garner three all-state awards. Meanwhile, Nguyen has been named to the all-state second team as well, her first career honor at the Commonwealth level. This is the first time in program history Liberty has featured three all-state singles players in the same season.

Parra Romero, Lovato and Nguyen helped Liberty match a program record with 19 wins in 2022. The Lady Flames finished with a 19-8 mark and 6-3 ASUN record and reached the ASUN Championship final for the first time.

The VaSID All-State program honors the top collegiate student-athletes in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Nomination and voting are conducted by sports information directors within the Commonwealth. VaSID names 44 all-state teams in 23 sports each year, an Academic All-State squad and an all-sports champion in both the University and College Divisions. Membership in VaSID is open to all media relations professionals working at a university or conference in Virginia.

Maria Juliana Parra Romero (VaSID Rookie of the Year, VaSID All-State singles first team)

Parra Romero becomes only the third all-state first team honoree in program history, as she joins Jenkins (2008) and Kalani Soli (2019). The rookie standout earned 2022 ASUN Freshman of the Year distinction along with ASUN All-Conference first team and ASUN All-Tournament team honors.

Parra Romero set a new program record with 29 singles wins during the 2021-22 campaign, posting a 29-5 overall mark, 18-3 spring record and 14-2 mark in the No. 1 slot in the lineup. The ASUN Player of the Week on Feb. 22, she finished the year as the No. 13-ranked singles player in the ITA Atlantic Region. Parra Romero was 7-1 in ASUN regular season matches. The freshman posted an 11-2 singles mark in her first fall at Liberty.

Esther Lovato (VaSID All-State singles second team)

An ASUN All-Conference first team and All-Academic team member, Lovato ranked second on the squad with 27 wins and sported a 27-6 overall record. Her 27 victories are the third most wins in a season of any player in program history.

Lovato held a perfect 15-0 record at No. 4 singles and was 7-1 in ASUN regular season contests. The Austin, Texas native had a 15-match winning streak from Feb. 12-April 14. In three seasons at Liberty, Lovato has a 68-12 (.850) record in singles. Her 68 wins are tied for fourth most in school history, and her .850 winning percentage is the second best mark (minimum 20 wins).

Tiffany Nguyen (VaSID All-State singles second team)

An ASUN All-Conference second team honoree for the second straight year in 2022, Nguyen posted a 14-3 spring singles record and was 5-2 in league competition. The Thu Dau Mot, Vietnam native was 19-6 overall in singles between the fall and spring seasons.

In the spring, she held a perfect 9-0 record in the No. 5 singles slot and won eight of her last nine matches.

2022 VaSID All-State Women’s Tennis University Division

VaSID Player of the Year – Emma Navarro, Virginia

VaSID Rookie of the Year – Maria Juliana Parra Romero, Liberty

VaSID Coach of the Year – Sara O’Leary, Virginia

VaSID All-State First Team

Singles

Emma Navarro (Virginia)

Natasha Subhash (Virginia)

Mila Saric (William & Mary)

Paola Exposito Diaz-Delgado (VCU)

Yuliia Starodubsteva (Old Dominion)

Maria Juliana Parra Romero (Liberty)

Doubles

Yuliia Starodubsteva/Tatsiana Sasnouskaya (Old Dominion)

Hibah Shaikh/Emma Navarro (Virginia)

Natasha Subhash/Elaine Chervinsky (Virginia)

VaSID All-State Second Team

Singles

Kylie Moulin (James Madison)

Tatiana Sasnouskaya (Old Dominion)

Hedda Gurholt (William & Mary)

Esther Lovato (Liberty)

Tiffany Nguyen (Liberty)

Paige La (George Mason)

Doubles

Hedda Gurholt/Mila Saric (William & Mary)

Hannah Yang/Paige La (George Mason)

Elisa Van Meeteren/Raffaela Alhach (William & Mary)