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BAY CITY, Mich.- Northwood University junior Darina Berkova was named the 2009 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) women’s tennis “Player of the Year” by the league’s head coaches in all-conference balloting.

The coaches named Northwood University rookie Svenja Stephan the conference’s “Freshman of the Year,” while Tomas Menec, head coach of the University of Findlay women’s tennis team, was tabbed the “Coach of the Year.”

Berkova has been the No.1 singles player for Northwood the past three seasons, posting a 57-7 overall record.  She has never lost to a GLIAC opponent and has a 23-0 record in conference singles matches.  She also has been a standout at No. 2 doubles, going 43-10 overall (22-3 in the GLIAC).  Berkova is the three-time Wilson/ITA Great Lakes Regional Singles Champion.  This year, Berkova is 16-1 overall in singles, not having dropped a set in dual-match play.  She has also gone 9-2 in double matches.  She led Northwood to its seventh straight GLIAC Championship.





Stephan immediately became a key part of the Northwood lineup in her freshman season, playing No. 1 doubles as well as No. 3 singles.  She went 11-1 at No. 1 doubles with partner Ashley Neumann in dual matches.  In singles, Stephan went 10-2 overall, which included a 9-1 record in dual matches.  She won in straight sets in all 10 of her dual match singles victories.  She was a key part of Northwood’s seventh straight GLIAC Championship.

Menec has the University of Findlay women’s tennis program heading in the right direction as the Oilers qualified for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament for the first time in school history this season. In only his second season, Menec has led the team to nine victories during his career, equaling the total number of victories the Oilers achieved in the four previous seasons before he arrived.

Joining Berkova on the 2009 All-GLIAC first team are: junior Sharon Gill and sophomore Kristina Goranskaya of Wayne State University; sophomore Victoria Goudy of Ashland University; junior Amy Ingle of Ferris State University; senior Ashley Neumann of Northwood; freshman Yunjiao Shanngguan of Saginaw Valley State University; and sophomores Ploy Suthijindawong and Victoria Zhilkina Michigan Technological University.

Joining Svenja on the 2009 All-GLIAC second team are: sophomore Paige Cooper and freshman Erika Sullivan of Ashland; juniors Chelsea Johnston and Darylann Trout, sophomore Tara Hayes and Katelyn Schaffer of Grand Valley State University; junior Nathalia Rondelli of Michigan Tech; and junior Charlotte Sevin of Northwood.

A complete list of the 2009 All-GLIAC women’s tennis teams are below: