Savannah State’s Gabrielle Benn has been named the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women’s Tennis Player of the Year and headlines the 2022 All-SIAC Team.
The honors, announced Saturday, were determined by votes from the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
Esperance Follykoue of Benedict, earned this year’s Freshman of the Year honors, while Clark Atlanta’s head coach, Tara Turner, was named Coach of the Year.
Gabrielle Benn, a Junior from Kingston, V.C, went 11-3 in singles play this season. Benn was undefeated in conference play, earning 8 straight wins. Benn teamed up with her sister, Amarlia Benn, in No. 1 doubles play and 7-6 overall during the regular season.
Esperance Follykoue had a stellar freshman season. In singles play, the Benin native went 6-2 in conference play, and 9-5 overall. Esperance also shined in doubles play, alongside her teammate Sofia Gomez. In doubles play, the two Tigers went undefeated in the SIAC, winning four games.
This is Tara Turner’s second Coach of the Year honor since starting with the Panthers in 2019. Coach Turner led the lady panthers to a 11-5 conference record this season, as well as coaching her doubles team of, Nicola Ramdyhan and Shereese Henry, to an All-Conference level.
In its inaugural season, the Elite 14 award recognized the student-athlete who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the SIAC championship level in his or her sport while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. Zikeria Jones of Albany State was the first recipient of this award in her respective sport.
The 2022 SIAC Women’s Tennis Championship is set to take place April 9-10 at Peachtree Tennis Center in Peachtree City, Ga.
Player of the Year– Gabrielle Benn, Savannah State
Freshman of the Year – Esperance Follykoue, Benedict
Coach of the Year– Tara Turner, Clark Atlanta
Elite 14 Honoree– Zikeria Jones, Albany State
All-Conference Team
| Singles | |||
| Asia Raulerson | Albany State | Freshman | Clermont, Florida |
| Amarlia Benn | Savannah State | Junior | Kingston, V.C. |
| Gabrielle Benn | Savannah State | Junior | Kingston, V.C. |
| Doylisha Copeland | Albany State | Junior | Cairo, Georgia |
| Julia Ramos Bentham | Savannah State | Freshman | Lloret De Mar, Spain. |
| Mary Grace Sullivan | Spring Hill | R-Junior | St. Louis, MO |
| Doubles | |||
| Esperance Follykoue/Sofia Gomez | Benedict | Freshman/Junior | Cotonou, Benin/Cartago, Costa Rica |
| Nicola Ramdyhan / Shereese Henry | Clark Atlanta | Graduate Student/Junior | Georgetown, Guyana/St. John’s, Antigua |
| Asia Raulerson/Carla Sorroche | Albany State | Sophomore/Sophomore | Clermont, Florida/Barcelona, Spain |
