KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Daniela Casique of Bethel College and Silva Avakian of Friends University both earned spots on one of the three NAIA Women's Tennis All-America teams, the national office announced May 21. Casique was named to the All-America Second Team, while Avakian earned a spot on the All-America Third Team.
Both Casique and Avakian were named to this season's All-KCAC First Team when those honors were voted on by the conference's women's tennis head coaches. Avakian also earned an individual honor at the conference level, being named the KCAC Women's Tennis Player of the Year for the second time in her collegiate career (2024). Casique was on a Bethel team that finished second in the regular-season standings, narrowly being eclipsed by Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
Honorees were selected by the NAIA All-America Selection Committee. Sixteen student-athletes were chosen to comprise the first and second teams. The third team consists of 18 student-athletes.
Keiser (Fla.) earned both major NAIA national individual honors. Senior Violet Apisah of Sydney, Australia, received the Marvin P. Richmond Outstanding Player award, and Daniel Finn was named NAIA National Coach of the Year.
First Team
| Name |
Institution |
Hometown |
Class |
| Shalimar Talbi |
SCAD Atlanta (Ga.) |
Minsk, Belarus |
Senior |
| Ruslana Kovalenko |
Tennessee Wesleyan University (Tenn.) |
Novakahovka, Ukraine |
Sophomore |
| Marylove Edwards |
Georgia Gwinnett College (Ga.) |
Lagos, Nigeria |
Sophomore |
| Jimena Ramirez |
Grace College (Ind.) |
Spain |
Senior |
| Sofia Munoz |
Indiana Wesleyan University (Ind.) |
Colombia |
Senior |
| Line Jensen |
Morningside University (Iowa) |
Humlebaek, Denmark |
Junior |
| Mayra Gisone |
Lindsey Wilson University (Ky.) |
Santa Fe, Argentina |
Senior |
| Nahia Echaide |
Louisiana State University Alexandria (La.) |
Huarte, Spain |
Sophomore |
| Maja Brnic |
Xavier University (La.) |
Zagreb, Croatia |
Freshman |
| Victoria Vieten |
William Carey University (Miss.) |
Dusseldorf, Germany |
Senior |
| Violet Apisah |
Keiser University (Fla.) |
Sydney, Australia |
Senior |
| Olivia Alcala |
Tennessee Wesleyan University (Tenn.) |
Barcelona, Spain |
Senior |
| McKenna Wheatley |
Xavier University (La.) |
Madison, Miss. |
Senior |
| Patricia Apisah |
Keiser University (Fla.) |
Sydney, Australia |
Senior |
| Alexandra Melnikova |
Keiser University (Fla.) |
Prague, Czech Republic |
Senior |
| Alessia Piccoliori |
SCAD Savannah (Ga.) |
Cristin, Italy |
Senior |
Second Team
| Name |
Institution |
Hometown |
Class |
| Yasmin Imamniyazova |
Marian University (Ind.) |
Kazakhstan |
Junior |
| Maria Purizaca |
Doane University (Neb.) |
Lima, Peru |
Junior |
| Daniela Casique |
Bethel College (Kan.) |
Valencia, Venezuela |
Junior |
| Marina Nagai |
University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) |
Kanagawa, Japan |
Senior |
| Karolina Mrowiecova |
University of Mobile (Ala.) |
Havirov, Czech Republic |
Senior |
| Martina Picardi |
Southeastern University (Fla.) |
Avellino, Italy |
Graduate School |
| Cherry Xiang |
SCAD Savannah (Ga.) |
Hangzhou, China |
Senior |
| Ana Lopez Torres |
Marian University (Ind.) |
Madrid, Spain |
Sophomore |
| Martina Cortal |
Lindsey Wilson University (Ky.) |
Barcelona, Spain |
Senior |
| JiAn Kang |
William Carey University (Miss.) |
Seoul, South Korea |
Sophomore |
| Laia Berne |
Tennessee Wesleyan University (Tenn.) |
Barcelona, Spain |
Junior |
| Isabella Lechuga |
William Carey University (Miss.) |
Puebla, Mexico |
Junior |
| Leonie Schondelmaier |
Southeastern University (Fla.) |
Erdmannhausen, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany |
Senior |
| Javiera Verdugo |
Lindsey Wilson University (Ky.) |
Paine, Chile |
Freshman |
| Mariangeles Mateu |
Lindsey Wilson University (Ky.) |
Valencia, Spain |
Junior |
| Ivet Prat |
Tennessee Wesleyan University (Tenn.) |
Barcelona, Spain |
Junior |
Third Team
| Name |
Institution |
Hometown |
Class |
| Viktoria Savvidou |
Holy Cross College (Ind.) |
Limassol, Cyprus |
Senior |
| Uliana Dotsenko |
Goshen College (Ind.) |
Ukraine |
Sophomore |
| Emilse Ruiz |
Stanton University (Calif.) |
Tucuman, Argentina |
Senior |
| Laura Cabello |
Baker University (Kan.) |
Madrid, Spain |
Freshman |
| Silva Avakian |
Friends University (Kan.) |
Pasadena, Calif. |
Senior |
| Sofia Canto |
Bethel University (Tenn.) |
Puebla, Mexico |
Junior |
| Silvia Fernandez de la Pradilla |
Oakland City University (Ind.) |
Alberite, Spain |
Junior |
| Ana Paola Gonzalez |
Texas A&M University – Texarkana (Texas) |
Tampico, Mexico |
Sophomore |
| Ely Laure |
Our Lady of the Lake University (Texas) |
Saint Gilles, France |
Sophomore |
| Micaela Ponce |
Loyola University (La.) |
Quito, Ecuador |
Senior |
| Karlie Scott Kersey |
College of Coastal Georgia (Ga.) |
Saint Simons Island, Georgia |
Sophomore |
| Leah Gonzales-Edward |
Holy Cross College (Ind.) |
London, England |
Senior |
| Paula Rodriguez |
Stanton University (Calif.) |
Tarragona, Spain |
Senior |
| Paulina Hudson |
Texas Wesleyan University (Texas) |
Montevideoi, Uruguay |
Junior |
| Isabella Stuurman |
Louisiana State University Alexandria (La.) |
Arnhem, The Netherlands |
Sophomore |
| Valeria Callejo |
Louisiana Christian University (La.) |
Madrid, Spain |
Junior |
| Carolina Guerrero |
Our Lady of the Lake University (Texas) |
Guayaquil, Ecuador |
Freshman |
| Lucia Siddens |
Texas A&M University – Texarkana (Texas) |
West Palm Beach, Fla. |
Freshman |
—KCAC—