Ogden, Utah, (May 1, 2015) - Idaho’s Galina Bykova was named the Big Sky Conference women’s tennis MVP. Idaho’s Odon Barta was named the Big Sky Conference men’s tennis MVP.
The All-Conference selections and individual awards were voted by the league’s head coaches and released by the league office on Friday.
Bykova becomes the second Vandal to receive the honor as Idaho’s Cathy Law won the MVP award back in 1990. Bykova, a sophomore from St. Petersburg, Russia, went 17-4 overall at the No. 1 singles spot, and was a perfect 11-0 in conference play. In Idaho’s first season back with the Big Sky after a nearly 20-year hiatus, the Vandals broke a historic streak, topping Sacramento State 4-3 in the conference championship to claim the title and end the Hornets’ run having won the previous 13 tournaments.
Bykova had singles winning streaks as high as seven late in the season and was ranked ninth in the Mountain Region by the ITA. Idaho went 10-1 in Big Sky play, 15-8 overall, and earned the Big Sky’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they will face defending-champion UCLA on May 9. In an April match against No. 57 Oregon Bykova faced Alina Rose, who was ranked 71st nationally at the time, defeating her in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. Three of Bykova’s five singles losses on the season came against national or regionally ranked players.
Bykova paired with Emmie Marx, Idaho’s other first-team selection, at No. 1 doubles and accumulated a 10-7 record and an 8-1 mark in conference play.
Montana senior Sasha Carter and Sacramento State junior Daria Savchenko each earned their second-consecutive first-team honor. UM senior Precious Gbadamosi and Weber State junior Agata Bachanek were named to the first team along with Sac State sophomores Alina Soltanici and Deimante Bulotovaite.
Barta is the first Idaho men’s player to be named MVP. The junior from Budapest, Hungary was 13-10 overall and 7-4 in conference play. He helped the Vandals to a 16-11 overall record and an 8-3 mark in the Big Sky. Idaho defeated Northern Arizona in the conference championship, earning an automatic NCAA tournament bid. They will face national tennis power Southern California in the first round on May 8.
Barta and No. 2 doubles partner Felipe Fonseca were each first-team selections, as the duo were 16-9 overall and 8-2 in conference action. Fonseca had 19 singles wins, tied for the most in the conference.
Eastern Washington sophomore Robert Dula and Montana junior Semion Branzburg were named to their second-straight first team. Idaho State senior Krzysztof Stempien and Northern Colorado senior Ben Gendron each made the jump to first team after being second-team choices last season. Rounding out the first team is Montana State sophomore Andre Napoliatano and Northern Arizona senior Jordan Gobatie.
2015 Women’s Big Sky All-Conference Tennis Team
First Team
Player School Year Hometown
Galina Bykova (MVP) Idaho So. St. Petersburg, Russia
Emmie Marx Idaho Sr. Mossel Bay, South Africa
$Sasha Carter Montana Sr. Bainbridge Island, Wash.
Precoius Gbadamosi Montana Sr. Houston, Texas
Deimante Bulotovaite Sacramento State So. Kaunas, Lithuania
$Daria Savchenko Sacramento State Jr. Uta, Russia
Alina Soltanici Sacramento State So. Chisinau, Moldova
Agata Bachanek Weber State Jr. Gdansk, Poland
$Two-Time First Team Selection
Second Team
Player School Year Hometown
Janaya Smith Eastern Washington Fr. Kingston, Tasmania
Sophie Vickers Idaho Sr. Melbourne, Australia
Hailey Rochin Northern Arizona So. Tucson, Ariz.
Tracy Dong Portland State So. Surrey, B.C.
Romy Dodd-Stevens Weber State Fr. Australia
Honorable Mention
Belen Barcenilla - Idaho; Jessica Brycki - Montana State; Laura Middel - Montana State; Johanna Vang - Northern Arizona; Marta Lewandowska - Northern Arizona; Jordan Denesik - Northern Arizona; Veronika Rogova - Southern Utah;
2015 Men’s Big Sky All-Conference Tennis Team
First Team
Player School Year Hometown
Odon Barta (MVP) Idaho Jr. Hungary, Budapest
$Robert Dula Eastern Washington So. Rijeka, Croatia
Felipe Fonseca Idaho Fr. Curitiba, Brazil
Krzysztof Stempien Idaho State Sr. Lodz, Poland
$Semion Branzburg Montana Jr. Ashdod, Israel
Andre Napoliatano Montana State So. Maringa, Brazil
Jordan Gobatie Northern Arizona Sr. Riverside, Calif.
Ben Gendron Northern Colorado Sr. Flower Mound, Texas
$Two-Time First Team Selection
Second Team
Player School Year Hometown
Roy Brandys Sacramento State Sr. Random, Poland
Landon Barlow Weber State Jr. Salt Lake City, Utah
Todd Fought Weber State Jr. West Vancouver, B.C.
Jakub Gewert Weber State Jr. Gnlezno, Poland
Honorable Mention
Cristobal Ramos Salazar - Idaho; Mark Kovacs - Idaho; Yannick Schmidl - Montana; Peter Mimnagh-Fleming - Montana; Javier Martin-Morillas - Montana State; Ethan Lopez - Portland State; Stuart Tierney - Portland State; Sean Kolar - Sacramento State