Hokie ClubGREENSBORO, N.C. – Seniors Katherine Butler and Caroline Daxhelet along with sophomore Natalie Novotna have been named to the 2018 Women's Tennis All-Academic Team as announced today by Commissioner John Swofford.
Louisville and Florida State led with four honorees each while Virginia Tech, Duke, Miami and Notre Dame each had three.
Butler was named the ITA Atlantic Region Most Improved Senior after claiming 18 wins, a 77-percent increase over her junior campaign. She finished the year with an 18-20 overall tally, including 11-13 in duals. The Literature and Language major claimed singles wins in matches against ranked foes: No. 23 Virginia, No. 27 Syracuse and No. 39 Clemson. In addition, she secured a crucial point in the Hokies close 4-3 win over No. 39 Old Dominion. In doubles she paired up with teammate Novotna to record a pair of ranked doubles wins over No. 86 and No. 90.
Daxhelet was named the ITA Atlantic Region Most Valuable Senior after finishing the year with a 19-17 overall record, including 13-11 in the spring at the two. She picked up two ranked wins on the season, defeating No. 67 Kenya Jones (#5 Georgia Tech) and No. 113 Petra Hule (#16 FSU). The Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise Major also defeated players from seven teams that finished the year ranked in the top-50. Daxhelet's win over Hule gave the Hokies a critical point in the 4-3 upset of No. 16 Florida State at the ACC Tournament. She paired up in doubles with Novotna for two ranked wins, defeating the ITA's No. 42 and No. 70 duos.
Novotna earned All-ACC Second Team and an at-large bid to the NCAA Singles Championship this spring after a great fall season in which she was the ITA Atlantic Region Champion and an ITA Nationals Qualifier. She finished the season ranked 52nd in the final ITA standings after posting an 25-13 overall record including 16-10 at the one this spring. The Biochemistry major tallied six wins versus opponents ranked in the final ITA standings and picked up a big win in the final weeks of the season, defeating No. 23 Carla Touly 6-0, 6-4 to help the Hokies upset No. 16 Florida State at the ACC Tournament. In doubles, Novotna had four ranked wins on the year, defeating No. 86 and No. 90 with teammate Butler and No. 42 and No. 70 with Daxhelet.
Minimum academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one's academic career. Athletic achievements during the most recent season are also considered in selecting the All-ACC Academic Team.
The ACC Honor Roll, which recognizes all conference student-athletes with a GPA of 3.0 for the current academic year will be released in July.
2018 All-ACC Academic Women's Tennis Team
Asiya Dair***, Sr., Boston College (Economics)
Marie-Alexandre Leduc, Jr., Clemson (Criminal Justice)
Meible Chi**, So., Duke (Evolutionary Anthropology)
Sam Harris****, Sr., Duke (Political Science)
Kaitlyn McCarthy***, Jr., Duke (Psychology)
Andrea Garcia-Fernandez, So., Florida State (Dietetics)
Petra Hule, Fr., Florida State (Exploratory)
Ariana Rahmanparast, Jr., Florida State (Sport Management)
Carla Touly, So., Florida State (Communication Media Studies)
Ida Jarlskog, Fr., Georgia Tech (Chemistry)
Mariana Mayer Humberg**, Sr., Louisville (Economics)
Raven Neely, So., Louisville (Criminal Justice)
Abigail Pahz, Sr., Louisville (Exercise Science)
Sena Suswam, Jr., Louisville (Marketing)
Ana Madcur, Jr., Miami (Finance)
Sinead Lohan***, Sr., Miami (Economics)
Estela Perez-Somarriba**, So., Miami (Economics)
Chloe Ouellet-Pizer**, Jr., North Carolina (Psychology)
Makenna Jones**, So., North Carolina (Exercise and Sport Science)
Anna Rogers, So., NC State (Business)
Cameron Corse, Fr., Notre Dame (Undeclared)
Allison Miller, Sr., Notre Dame (Neuroscience & Behavior)
Zoe Spence, So., Notre Dame (Political Science)
Callie Frey, Sr., Pitt (Marketing)
Gabriela Knutson**, Jr., Syracuse (Broadcast Journalism)
Miranda Ramirez**, So., Syracuse (Management)
Meghan Kelley, Jr., Virginia (Foreign Affairs)
Katherine Butler, Sr., Virginia Tech (Literature and Language)
Caroline Daxhelet, Sr., Virginia Tech (Human Nutrition Food and Exercise)
Natalie Novotna**, So., Virginia Tech (Biochemistry)
Emma Davis, Jr., Wake Forest (Business & Enterprise Management)
Eliza Omirou, Fr., Wake Forest (Undeclared)
2018 Women's Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Sam Harris, Sr., Duke (Political Science)
*- denotes number of All-ACC Academic honors