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University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Three Bulldogs named All-Conference, Morkel earns Scholar-Athlete of the Year
04.15.2021 | Women's Tennis
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Big South announced its 2021 Women's Tennis annual award winners on Thursday, with Lize Alet Morkel and Ami Grace Dougah earning First Team All-Conference Singles honors, Rosie Dickson earning Second Team Singles honors while Dougah and Dickson teamed up to garner First Team All-Conference doubles recognition. Additionally, Morkel was named the Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
"Ami Grace, Rosie and Lize are all very deserving of being voted to the all-conference team team," said UNC Asheville Women's Tennis Coach Lise Gregory.
Dougah had quite the impressive season, going 10-3 in singles competition including 5-1 against Big South foes. Playing all but one match at the No. 2 singles flight, Dougah won seven of her last eight singles matches with. The Lawrenceville, Georgia native grabbed a 6-4, 6-2 win at Longwood and a three-set battle at Campbell which helped lift Asheville to a 4-3 team victory.
A sophomore from Bradenton, Florida, Dickson was 6-0 in singles action at flights No. 4-6, this season, going undefeated (5-0) in Big South action. Dickson ended her season with four straight wins without dropping a single set, and her 6-1, 7-6 victory at Campbell helping lead the Bulldogs to a 4-3 team victory.
As a duo, Dougah and Dickson were a force at No. 1 doubles, teaming up for seven wins and three losses on the season, going 3-2 against Big South competition, with their sixth match going unfinished (4-4).
A junior from South Africa, Morkel had a strong season this year for the Bulldogs, amassing a singles record of 9-4 while going 8-4 at the No. 1 flight. Morkel opened the season strong, earning player of the week honors en route to a perfect 7-0 start in singles competition. Morkel opened up the conference season with two big wins at Longwood and Campbell, with her 6-4, 6-1 victory over the Camels helping edge the Bulldogs to a 4-3 victory. A mathematics major with a concentration in statistics, Morkel is conducting research study on the effects of COVID-19 stock prices of companies using KNN and neural networks to present at the UNC Asheville Symposium on April 20. Morkel, who is also minoring in economics, has volunteered to distribute COVID-19 vaccines as well as helping coach the Asheville High School Women's Tennis team.
"I think it's awesome that Asheville tennis has both men's and women's scholar-athletes of the year," said Gregory of Lize and her brother Charlie (Men's Tennis) who both earning 2021 Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. The Morkel's are an impressive family!"
2021 Big South Conference Women's Tennis Award Winners
First Team All-Conference Singles
Salma Loudili, Fr., Radford
Madalina Man, Sr., Charleston Southern
Ami Grace Dougah, UNC Asheville
Zeba Jamal, Jr., Presbyterian College
Ana Castillo, Sr., Campbell
Lize-Alet Morkel, Jr., UNC Asheville
Miljana Ristic, Gardner-Webb
Malin Falk, Jr., Radford
First Team All-Conference Doubles
Ami Grace Dougah / Rosie Dickson, UNC Asheville
Emily Brandow / Malin Falk, Radford
Daniela Naupari / Miljana Ristic, Gardner-Webb
Anna Kopecka / Ana Castillo, Campbell (tie)
Khyanna Singh / Madalina Man, Charleston Southern (tie)
Second Team All-Conference Singles
Zoe Cauthen, Soph., Charleston Southern
Rhona Cook, Fr., Campbell
Manon Delsol, Gardner-Webb
Luiza Fullana, Soph., Charleston Southern
Daniela Naupari, Gr., Gardner-Webb
Khyanna Singh, Fr., Charleston Southern
Rosie Dickson, UNC Asheville
Lucianna Piedra, Fr., Presbyterian College
Second Team All-Conference Doubles
Melissa Ifidzhen / Salma Loudili, Radford
Alexa Wilson / Sam Calais, Presbyterian College
Tiffany Pyritz / Zoe Cauthen, Charleston Southern
Katey Fruehauf / Tyler Blalock, Radford
All-Academic Team
Ana Castillo, Sr., Campbell
Tiffany Pyritz, Jr., Charleston Southern
Daniela Naupari, Gr., Gardner-Webb
Viktoria Ljungman, Jr., Hampton
Crystal Nzewi, Sr., Longwood
Jessica Leeman, Jr., Presbyterian College
Tyler Blalock, Sr., Radford
Lize Alet Morkel, Jr., UNC Asheville
Player of the Year
Salma Loudili, Fr., Radford
Freshman of the Year
Salma Loudili, Radford
Coach of the Year
Anca Dumitrescu, Charleston Southern
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Lize-Alet Morkel, Jr., UNC Asheville
