University of Minnesota Athletics
Ferrazzi Leads Women's Tennis Award Winners
5/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Junior Alessandra Ferrazzi was named the Most Valuable Player to lead the University of Minnesota women's tennis award winners for the 2009-10 season.
Senior Tijana Koprivica won the squad's Most Enthusiastic Award and senior Jackie Sperling was the Most Improved Player. Junior Mariana Spilca won the team's Belmar Gunderson Award. Minnesota finished the season 10-14 overall and 3-7 in Big Ten play.
In addition to the individual awards, the women's tennis team was also recognized earlier this spring with the athletic department's Outstanding Academic Team award for the second straight year. The Gophers had a cumulative 3.5 team GPA, which was the best of any small female team.
Ferrazzi, a Brescia, Italy native, led the Gophers with 24 wins and became Minnesota's first all-Big Ten selection since 2007. Ferrazzi played the majority of the season at No. 1 singles and finished 24-15 overall in singles. She was 5-5 in Big Ten singles play for the season and seven of her 15 losses came to ranked players. In doubles, Ferrazzi finished 21-17 while playing with seven of the Gophers' eight other players on the roster. She and Alexa Palen teamed for a 7-3 record against Big Ten competition at No. 1 doubles.
Koprivica, a Belgrade, Serbia native, also won the Most Enthusiastic Award as a freshman in 2007. She went 23-18 this season and concluded her career tied for fourth on the school's all-time singles wins list with 92 victories. The Most Enthusiastic Award is presented to the player who exhibits extraordinary spirit, selflessness and genuine appreciation of being a Gopher.
Sperling, a Mequon, Wis. native, concluded her career as a four-year walk-on player. Sperling played in 10 matches as a freshman before breaking into the lineup as a sophomore. She played as high as No. 2 singles this season and competed in 36 singles matches. Sperling won 45 singles matches in her career.
Spilca, a Belen, N.M. native, battled a variety of injuries the past three years to return to the courts this year and play in nine singles matches and 25 doubles matches. She did not appear in any matches in 2008-09 and competed in 13 singles matches and 11 doubles matches the previous year. The Belmar Gunderson award is presented to the athlete who consistently finds a way to persevere in the midst of adverse conditions and unfavorable odds.
Players Mentioned
