University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Morkel named Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year as five Bulldogs earn All-Conference honors
04.21.2022 | Women's Tennis
Dougah, Dickson, Steenkamp and Siegel garner All-Conference recognition
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Big South announced its 2022 All-Conference winners Thursday afternoon, with Lize Alet Morkel headlining, earning Scholar-Athlete of the Year and First-Team Singles. Ami Grace Dougah joined Morkel for First Team Singles along with Rosie Dickson for First Team Doubles, while Linge Steenkamp earned Second Team Singles and Second Team Doubles with Ari Siegel.
The five honors are the most in program history since the Big South started awarding First and Second team honors in 2016.
Morkel paired a stellar season on the court with one in the classroom. The senior had one of the best singles season of her career, totaling 11 wins with 8 as the No. 1, including six wins in a row to open the season, all while earning a 3.922 GPA in Mathematics. With a minor in Economics, her performance in the classroom earned her the 2021-2022 UNCA Joseph M. Parsons and Jane Oliver Swafford Scholarship in Mathematics. Morkel joins her brother Charlie as a back-to-back winner of the Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while making her third appearance in a row on First Team Singles.
Dougah joins Morkel on First Team Singles for the second year in a row, amassing a career-best 14-4 record. The Lawrenceville, Georgia, native proved versatile all year, playing most matches on the No. 2 court with a 9-3 record, while also playing multiple matches at the No. 1 with a tally of 5-1. The junior won 11 of her matches in straight sets and earned Player of the Week three times, a feat which had only been accomplished three times before in Big South history.
The junior duo of Dougah and Dickson also found themselves in familiar territory, earning First Team Doubles for the second straight year. The pair played all contests at the No. 1 flight, winning their first nine matches of the season. Finishing with a record of 13-4 and 5-2 in conference, Dougah and Dickson increased their win total by six from the prior year and finished with the most overall wins in the conference.
Perhaps one of the more underrated duos in the Big South, the young pair of Steenkamp and Siegel skyrocketed to a 12-1 regular-season record, marking the best overall win percentage in the conference. The sophomore and freshman won their last six matches of the year to finish 5-1 in Big South play, earning the top-ranked No. 2 doubles team in the Big South.
Steenkamp coupled a fantastic doubles season with a singles season equally successful, posting a 12-2 record with a 5-1 Big South mark. The South African native increased her win total by nine from her freshman season and boasted the best win percentage on the team in singles play, and the fourth-best in the Big South. Steenkamp won her first nine matches of the year, including a rare 6-0, 6-0 double bagel against North Carolina A&T.
2022 Big South Conference Women's Tennis Award Winners
First Team All-Conference Singles
Teodora Ristic, Gardner-Webb
Salma Loudili, Radford
Marissa Pennings, Campbell
Luiza Fullana, Charleston Southern
Ami Grace Dougah, UNC Asheville
Lize Alet Morkel, UNC Asheville
Mialy Ranaivo, Campbell
Manon Delsol, Gardner-Webb
First Team All-Conference Doubles
Luiza Fullana / Laura Marti, Charleston Southern
Rhona Cook / Mialy Ranaivo, Campbell
Teodora Ristic / Maria Jardim, Gardner-Webb
Rosie Dickson / Ami Grace Dougah, UNC Asheville
Second Team All-Conference Singles
Madalina Man, Charleston Southern
Claudia Sanchez, Presbyterian College
Sandra Gines, Campbell
Laura Marti, Charleston Southern
Linge Steenkamp, UNC Asheville
Jessica Leeman, Presbyterian College
Malin Falk, Radford
Noa Boyd, Charleston Southern (tie)
Rhona Cook, Campbell (tie)
Second Team All-Conference Doubles
Madalina Man / Khyana Singh, Charleston Southern
Malin Falk / Salma Loudili, Radford
Ari Siegel / Linge Steenkamp, UNC Asheville
Noa Boyd / Amila Jusufbegovic, Charleston Southern (tie)
Emma Nurgazieva / Karina Rizvanova, Longwood (tie)
All-Academic Team
Rhona Cook, Campbell
Tiffany Pyritz, Charleston Southern
Maria Jardim, Gardner-Webb
Viktoria Ljungman, Hampton
Nina Hederich, Longwood
Marlene Estenssoro Pineda, North Carolina A&T
Jessica Leeman, Presbyterian
Malin Falk, Radford
Lize Alet Morkel, UNC Asheville
Player of the Year
Teodora Ristic, Gardner-Webb
Players Mentioned
