KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Washburn's Diana Goldsmith repeated as the MIAA's Most Valuable Player as voted on by the conference's coaches which was released today by the conference office. Goldsmith will lead the Lady Blues into action tomorrow as they open NCAA Regional Tennis action against Emporia State on Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. in Maryville, Mo.

Goldsmith has a 15-5 in dual match play at No. 1 singles was picked second team all-MIAA for both singles and doubles with teammate Amber Raindl at No. 1 doubles. The duo has combined record of 16-4 with Raindl. Raindl also earned honorable mention all-MIAA honors at No. 2 singles after going 4-3 in conference play.

Lauren Harris earned second team honors at No. 6 singles for Washburn. She has a 14-4 overall record this season and went 6-1 in MIAA action.

release from the MIAA
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Student-athletes from conference champion Southwest Baptist and runner-up Northwest Missouri State claimed first-team honors in six of the nine flights on the 2008 All-MIAA Women's Tennis Team, as selected by the league's coaches.

Southwest Baptist (16-7, 5-2 MIAA) captured its first MIAA championship with a 5-3 win over Northwest (21-4, 7-0 MIAA). The SBU Lady Bearcats had two players recognized in three flights, while the Northwest Bearcats had four players honored in three flights.

Senior Iveta Wolfgramm and sophomore Johanna Olsson teamed up to earn first-team at No. 2 doubles for SBU, and each was first-team in singles -- Wolfgramm at No. 2 and Olsson at No. 3. Olsson was a unanimous choice in singles.

Wolfgramm and Olsson are 12-3 at No. 2 doubles and 6-1 in conference play. Wolfgramm (16-5 overall) and Olsson (16-2) each posted 7-0 records in MIAA singles play.

Northwest senior Kristina Vucenov was the coaches choice at No. 1 singles, while sophomore teammate Lisa Pendrak gained recognition at No. 6 singles. The duo of juniors Lina Gomez and Jordan Lipira were a unanimous selection of the coaches at No. 3 doubles.

Vucenov is 20-3 in No. 1 singles and 7-0 in conference regular season play before going 2-1 in the MIAA Tournament. Pendrak is 18-4 in dual singles play, 7-1 in the No. 6 flight and 6-0 against conference foes.

Gomez and Lipira, who each also picked up second-team singles honors, are 17-1 in No. 3 doubles play and won their first 12 of the season in dual match action.

Senior Natalie Villaflor of Emporia State (13-4, 4-3 MIAA) joined Wolfgramm and Olsson in getting two first-team selections.

She was the coaches' choice at No. 2 singles after starting out by winning 14 in a row before retiring due to an injury against Missouri Western's Laura Rutten in a consolation match at the MIAA Tournament.

Villaflor and senior Marcela Bayon were unanimous selections for No. 1 doubles. They were 15-2, having a string of 14 straight wins snapped by the second-team No. 1 doubles team of seniors Diana Goldsmith and Amber Raindl of Washburn (12-6, 4-3 MIAA) in the MIAA Tournament.

Freshman Amy Ochs of Truman (21-5, 5-2 MIAA) rounds out the first team selections at No. 5 singles. She started her career on a 24-match win streak before losing a three-setter to SBU freshmanJenna Hendrickson in the MIAA semifinals.

In spite of not getting on the first team, Goldsmith was the coaches' choice as Most Valuable Player for the second time in as many seasons. She is 15-5 in dual match play at No. 1 singles for the Lady Blues and 16-4 with Raindl in No. 1 doubles.

Although Ochs was the only freshman on the first team, ESU's Amanda Morris earned the nod as the MIAA Freshman of the Year. Morris played No. 3 singles and doubles for the Lady Hornets, going 13-2 in singles and 13-2 with senior partner Audrey Sherman in doubles -- 12-2 at the No. 3 spot.

The player and coaches vote for the MIAA Sportsmanship Award, which goes to SBU senior Chelsey Janzen. She entered the NCAA Division II postseason with a 8-12 singles mark, and is 15-6 in doubles with sophomore teammate Jolee Cook. She clinched the Lady Bearcats' MIAA title match with her win at No. 2 singles.

Southwest Baptist head coach John Bryant earned his first MIAA Coach of the Year Award in women's tennis after guiding the Lady 'Cats to their first conference title.

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First Team                 Fl.  Yr. Hometown
Kristina Vucenov, NWMSU    1S   Sr. Novi Sad, Serbia
#Natalie Villaflor, ESU   2S/1D Sr. Oklahoma City, Okla.
Iveta Wolfgramm, SBU      3S/2D Sr. Tepuce, Czech Republic
+Johanna Olsson, SBU      4S/2D So. Gothenberg, Sweden
+Amy Ochs, TSU             5S   Fr. Kirksville, Mo.
Lisa Pendrak, NWMSU        6S   So. Nevada, Mo.
#Marcela Bayon, ESU        1D   Sr. Chihuahua, Mexico
#Lina Gomez, NWMSU         3D   Jr. Barcelona, Spain
#Jordan Lipira, NWMSU      3D   Jr. St. Joseph, Mo.
+=Unanimous selection in singles   
#=Unanimous selection in doubles
   
Second Team
Diana Goldsmith, WU       1S/1D Sr. St. Ann, Jamaica
Lindsy Blair, TSU          2S   Jr. Pella, Iowa
Jordan Lipira, NWMSU       3S   Jr. St. Joseph, Mo.
Lina Gomez, NWMSU          4S   Jr. Barcelona, Spain
Audrey Sherman, ESU        5S   Sr. Great Bend, Kan.
Lauren Harris, WU          6S   Sr. Wichita, Kan.
Amber Raindl, WU           1D   Sr. Midland, Texas    
Veronica Castilla, NWMSU   2D   So. Puertollano, Spain
Kristina Vucenov, NWMSU    2D   Sr. Novi Sad, Serbia
Stephanie Aug, SBU         3D   Sr. Bolivar, Mo.
Trish Moceo, SBU           3D   Jr. Lubbock, Texas
   
Honorable Mention
Marcela Bayon, ESU         1S   Sr. Chihuahua, Mexico
Michelle Hall, MSSU        1S   Sr. Lee's Summit, Mo.
Amber Raindl, WU           2S   Sr. Midland, Texas
Chelsey Janzen, SBU       2S/1D Sr. Enid, Okla.
Amanda Morris, ESU        3S/3D Fr. Salina, Kan.
Kayla Kuykendall, TSU      4S   Fr. Oronogo, Mo.
Jenna Hendrickson, SBU     5S   Fr. Tulsa, Okla.
Carolina Amaral, NWMSU     5S   Sr. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Trish Moceo, SBU           6S   Jr. Lubbock, Texas
Kirsten Ford, ESU          6S   Fr. Topeka, Kan.
Jolee Cook, SBU            1D   So. Rowlett, Texas
Jennifer Salmon, TSU       2D   Sr. Cameron, Mo.
Amy Ochs, TSU              2D   Fr. Kirksville, Mo.
Audrey Sherman, ESU        3D   Sr. Great Bend, Kan.
   
Most Valuable Player: Diana Goldsmith, WU
Freshman of the Year: Amanda Morris, ESU
Sportsmanship Award: Chelsey Janzen, SBU
Coach of the Year: John Bryant, SBU

Legend: Flights are abbreviated by number and event (e.g., 1S=No. 1 singles, 2D=No. 2 doubles).