William & Mary's Gurholt Earns Top Honor On All-CAA Women's Tennis Team For Second Straight Year

5/15/2024 10:00:00 AM

Rob Washburn

RICHMOND, Va. (May 15, 2024) – William & Mary junior Hedda Gurholt was chosen as the CAA Women’s Tennis Player of the Year for the second straight season, headlining the group of postseason award winners voted on by the league’s head coaches.

Charleston freshman Oziera Ahmad was selected as the CAA Rookie of the Year and William & Mary’s Jessica Giuggioli received CAA Coach of the Year accolades for the third year in a row.

Gurholt compiled a 28-6 overall record in singles this season, including a 19-3 mark in dual matches. She picked up three victories, including two match-clinchers, in the CAA Women’s Tennis Championship to earn Most Outstanding Player accolades for the second year in a row. The junior also added 15 victories in doubles. In her three seasons in Williamsburg, Gurholt has earned two Player of the Year honors and Rookie of the Year recognition.

Ahmad put together a sparkling 17-3 record in singles for Charleston, including a 14-2 mark at the No. 3 position. The freshman closed the season with victories in eight of her final nine matches and helped the Cougars to a 17-5 team record. Ahmad also added five victories in doubles. She is the first Charleston player to ever be chosen as the CAA Rookie of the Year.

Giuggioli guided the Tribe to an 18-6 overall record and its third consecutive CAA championship after a 4-0 victory over Delaware in the finals. That win was the team’s 14^th in a row, matching a program record. The CAA three-peat was the first for William & Mary since 2018 and earned them a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the 26^th time.

Joining Gurholt on the All-CAA singles first team were William & Mary grad student Yu Chen, Delaware grad student Slade Coetzee, Charleston junior Maja Jekauc, Drexel junior Lorie Lemongo and Elon senior Lizette Reding.

Making the All-CAA doubles first team were the Delaware duo of grad students Eliza Askarova and Alex Staiculescu, the UNCW tandem of sophomores Eda Arli and Elif Albayrak, and the Elon pair of senior Sibel Tanik and Reding.

2024 CAA WOMEN’S TENNIS POSTSEASON AWARDS

CAA Player of the Year: Hedda Gurholt, Jr., William & Mary
CAA Rookie of the Year: Oziera Ahmad, Fr., Charleston
CAA Coach of the Year: Jessica Giuggioli, William & Mary

First Team All-CAA Singles
Name, School Class                     Hometown
Yu Chen, William & Mary Gr.                         Jinzhong, China
Slade Coetzee, Delaware Gr.                         Miami Beach, Fla.
Hedda Gurholt, William & Mary Jr.                          Oslo, Norway
Maja Jekauc, Charleston                               Jr.                          Karlsruhe, Germany
Lorie Lemongo, Drexel                                  Jr.                          Yaounde, Cameroon
Lizette Reding, Elon Sr.                          Leon, Mexico

First Team All-CAA Doubles
Name, School Class                     Hometown
Eliza Askarova, Delaware Gr.                         Philadelphia, Pa.
Alex Staiculescu, Delaware                          Gr.                         Bucharest, Romania
Eda Arli, UNCW So.                         Izmir, Turkey
Elif Albayrak, UNCW So.                         Istanbul, Turkey
Lizette Reding, Elon Sr.                          Leon, Mexico
Sibel Tanik, Elon Sr.                          Raleigh, N.C.

Second Team All-CAA Singles
Name, School Class                     Hometown
Oziera Ahmad, Charleston Fr.                          Hampton, N.H.
Eda Arli, UNCW So.                         Izmir, Turkey
Mila Mejic, William & Mary Gr.                         Subotica, Serbia
Mialy Ranaivo, Campbell                              Jr.                          Antananarivo, Madagascar
Elisa Rigazio, Drexel Jr.                          Lyon, France
Halli Trinkle, Charleston                                Gr.                         Charlestown, Ind.

Second Team All-CAA Doubles
Name, School Class                     Hometown
Yu Chen, William & Mary                             Gr.                         Jinzhong, China
Emma Fernald, William & Mary Jr.                          St. Petersburg, Fla.
Julieta Honrubia, Delaware                         Sr.                          Cuenca, Spain
Maryia Hrynashka, Delaware                      So.                         Rancho Cordova, Calif.
Lorie Lemongo, Drexel Jr.                          Yaounde, Cameroon
Renata Lombera, Drexel Gr.                         Mexico City, Mexico

Third Team All-CAA Singles
Name, School Class                     Hometown
Lily Chitambar, Campbell Fr.                          Boulder, Colo.
Maryia Hrynashka, Delaware                      So.                         Rancho Cordova, Calif.
Stela Joksimovic, UNCW Jr.                          Chapel Hill, N.C.
Mio Kozaki, Hampton So.                         Aichi, Japan
Alex Staiculescu, Delaware Gr.                         Bucharest, Romania
Sibel Tanik, Elon Sr. Raleigh, N.C.

Third Team All-CAA Doubles
Name, School Class                     Hometown
Lily Chitambar, Campbell Fr.                          Boulder, Colo.
Mariana Ossa, Campbell Sr.                          Key Biscayne, Fla.
Alessandra Anghel, William & Mary Jr.                          Pistoia, Florence, Italy
Ine Stange, William & Mary Jr.                          Oslo, Norway
Maddie Ricardo, Drexel Jr.                          Gold Coast, Australia
Elisa Rigazio, Drexel Jr.                          Lyon, France