KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two student-athletes from the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC), Daniela Herrera of Bethel College and Silva Avakian of Friends University, have earned spots on one of the NAIA Women's Tennis All-America teams, the national office announced Friday.
Herrera earned a spot on the All-America Second Team following a season in which she was named the KCAC Women's Tennis Player of the Year and was a first team All-KCAC honoree. Avakian was also a first team All-KCAC honoree in 2025.
Honorees were selected by the NAIA All-America Selection Committee. Sixteen student-athletes were chosen to comprise first and second teams. The third team is comprised of 20 student-athletes.
Keiser (Fla.) and Georgia Gwinnett both have a pair of student-athletes on the first team list. Justine Lespes of Georgia Gwinnett, for the third-consecutive year, garnered the Marvin P. Richmond Award, awarded to the most outstanding performer at the NAIA Women's Tennis Championships.
FIRST TEAM
| Name |
Institution |
Class |
Hometown |
| Victoria Vieten |
William Carey (Miss.) |
Sophomore |
Dusseldorf, Germany |
| Violet Apisah |
Keiser (Fla.) |
Senior |
Sydney, Australia |
| Aina Bernabeu |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
Graduate |
Castellar del Valles, Spain |
| Sofia Munoz |
Indiana Wesleyan |
Junior |
Medellin, Colombia |
| Justine Lespes |
Georgia Gwinnett |
Senior |
La-Teste-de-Buch, France |
| Shalimar Talbi |
SCAD Atlanta (Ga.) |
Junior |
Minsk, Belarus |
| Lucy Carpenter |
Loyola (La.) |
Graduate |
Croton-On-Hudson, N.Y |
| Eloise de Mooij |
Keiser (Fla.) |
Freshman |
Noordwijk, Netherlands |
| Karen Kondo |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
Senior |
Tokyo, Japan |
| Jian Kang |
William Carey (Miss.) |
Freshman |
Seoul, Korea |
| Carlotta Marzano |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
Graduate |
Italy, Italy |
| Anastasiia Vorobiova |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
Senior |
Odessa, Ukraine |
| Kanupriya Rajawat |
LSU Alexandria (La.) |
Freshman |
Jaipur, India |
| Alexandra Melnikova |
Georgia Gwinnett |
Junior |
Prague, Czech Republic |
| Yue Yu |
SCAD Savannah (Ga.) |
Graduate |
Dalian, China |
| Mercedes Chasset |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
Senior |
Rosario, Argentina |
SECOND TEAM
| Name |
Institution |
Class |
Hometown |
| Marina Nagai |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
Junior |
Kanagawa, Japan |
| McKenna Wheatley |
Xavier (La.) |
Junior |
Madison, Miss. |
| Anita Chornei |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
|
Ukraine, Ukraine |
| Mariangeles Mateu |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
Sophomore |
Valencia, Spain |
| Michelle Irigoyen |
Marian (Ind.) |
|
Cuscatlan, El Salvador |
| Isabela Mercante |
Keiser (Fla.) |
Junior |
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| MaryLove Edwards |
Georgia Gwinnett |
Freshman |
Lagos, Nigeria |
| Daniela Herrera |
Bethel (Kan.) |
Senior |
Juarez, Mexico |
| Jimena Ramirez |
Grace (Ind.) |
Junior |
Alicante, Spain |
| Isid Hernandez |
Georgia Gwinnett |
Senior |
Miami, Fla. |
| Line Jensen |
Morningside (Iowa) |
Junior |
Humlebaek, Denmark |
| Isabella Lechuga |
William Carey (Miss.) |
Sophomore |
Puebla, Mexico |
| Sofia Canto Hurtado |
Bethel (Tenn.) |
Sophomore |
Puebla, Mexico |
| Liza Velykorodna |
Keiser (Fla.) |
|
Kyiv, Ukraine |
| Nahia Echaide |
LSU Alexandria (La.) |
Freshman |
Huarte, Spain |
| Carmine Becoude |
SCAD Atlanta (Ga.) |
Sophomore |
Cotonou, Benin |
THIRD TEAM
| Name |
Institution |
Class |
Hometown |
| Madeline Monroy |
Arizona Christian |
Junior |
Litchfield Park, Ariz. |
| Agathe Vaillant |
Northwestern Ohio |
Sophomore |
Landerneau, France |
| Maria Trembach |
Oakland City (Ind.) |
Sophomore |
Kyiv, Ukraine |
| Hanna Lindeboom |
William Woods (Mo.) |
Senior |
Groningen, Netherlands |
| Victoria Savvidou |
Holy Cross (Ind.) |
Junior |
Limassol, Cyprus |
| Pierina Lescher |
LSU Shreveport (La.) |
Sophomore |
Maracaibo, Venezuela |
| Maria Purizaca |
Doane (Neb.) |
Sophomore |
Lima, Peru |
| Anna Bintsarovskaya |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
Junior |
Chachkov, Belarus |
| Mbali Langa |
Xavier (La.) |
5th Year |
Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Olivia Alcala |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
Junior |
Barcelona, Spain |
| Anastasija Stojanovic |
SCAD Atlanta (Ga.) |
Sophomore |
Prokuplje, Serbia |
| Irene Parigi |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
Freshman |
Italy, Italy |
| Ainhoa Meili Fernandez |
Middle Georgia State |
Junior |
Bilbao, Spain |
| Silva Avakian |
Friends (Kan.) |
Junior |
Pasadena, Calif. |
| Oriana Espinoza |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
Senior |
Maracay, Venezuela |
| Magdalena Skachova |
Union Commonwealth (Ky.) |
Sophomore |
Kladno, Czech Republic |
| Chloe Henderson |
Loyola (La.) |
Junior |
New Braunfels, Texas |
| Emilia Nowak |
Cumberland (Tenn.) |
Freshman |
Poland, Poland |
| Chiharu Ito |
Montreat (N.C.) |
Freshman |
Shizuoka, Japan |
| Micaela Ponce |
Loyola (La.) |
Junior |
Quito, Ecuador |
—KCAC—