OGDEN, Utah (May 6, 2016) - Idaho’s Marianna Petrei was named the Big Sky Conference women’s tennis Most Valuable Player. Portland State’s Nathan Boniel 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.
Petrei brought home Idaho’s second consecutive MVP honor while becoming the Vandals’ third Big Sky MVP in school history. The freshman from Udine, Italy, led the league with a 22-2 overall singles record along with a perfect 11-0 mark during conference play. Playing exclusively at No. 1 singles, Petrei has put together two separate 11-match winning streaks and dropped just six sets during the season. In doubles play, she primarily played with Lucia Badillos at the No. 3 position, accumulating a dominant 14-1 overall record with a 7-1 clip in Big Sky action.
Petrei had the Big Sky’s top winning percentage not just at No. 1 singles but singles play overall. She went 13-0 overall against conference competition dropping just a single set in all finished matches. The freshman helped lead Idaho to its second consecutive Big Sky tournament title, going a combined 5-0 as the Vandals won three straight matches while knocking off both regular season champions in the process. Idaho also prevented Sacramento State from reaching its 15th straight championship match, and the Vandals topped the league’s other regular season champion Northern Arizona in the title match to earn its third trip in a row to the NCAA Tournament.
This year’s first team on the women’s side was stacked with newcomers, as Sacramento State junior Alina Soltanici was the lone repeat selection being named to her second straight first team. Petrei was joined by teammate Belen Barcenilla, while Sac State led the league with three first team selections with Ana Loaiza Esquivias and Jennifer Ong joining Soltanici. Montana State’s Laura Middel and Northern Arizona’s Blanka Szavay and Hanneke Lodewijks rounded out the first team.
Boniel becomes the first Portland State player to be named MVP in school history, after the sophomore transfer from Sydney, Australia, went 19-1 overall with a 9-1 league record in his first season with the Vikings. He led the league with a .950 overall winning percentage playing exclusively at the No. 1 court and ended the season on a 13-match winning streak with 12 of those coming in straight sets. His lone singles loss of the season came in a narrow 6-4, 4-6, 5-7 defeat to Eastern Washington’s Robert Dula, who was named to his third consecutive first team. Boniel primarily played with Wil Cochrane at No. 2 & 3 doubles, putting together a 9-5 record with a 5-1 mark in league play.
Boniel was the NCCAA national champion at Campbellsville University before transferring to PSU this season, where the sophomore shattered school records in overall and No. 1 singles wins, win percentage and Big Sky wins.
Joining Dula as repeat first team selections was Idaho’s Odon Barta and Felipe Fonseca as well as Weber State’s Todd Fought. Montana’s Victor Casadevall, Northern Arizona’s Tim Handel and WSU’s Stefan Cooper also earned first-team nods.
| 2016 Women's Tennis All-Conference Team |
| First Team |
| Player |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| Marianna Petrei (MVP) |
Idaho |
Fr. |
Udine, Italy |
| Belen Barcenilla |
Idaho |
Sr. |
Leon Spain |
| Laura Middel |
Montana State |
Jr. |
Hoogezand, Netherlands |
| Hanneke Lodewijks |
Northern Arizona |
Fr. |
Breda, Netherlands |
| Blanka Szavay |
Northern Arizona |
So. |
Soltvadkert, Hungary |
| Ana Loaiza Esquivias |
Sacramento State |
So. |
Mazatlan Sinaloa, Mexico |
| Jennifer Ong |
Sacramento State |
Sr. |
Wollongong, Australia |
| $Alina Soltanici |
Sacramento State |
Jr. |
Chisinau, Moldova |
| Second Team |
| Maria Tavares |
Idaho |
Fr. |
Porto, Portugal |
| Jordan Denesik |
Northern Arizona |
Sr. |
Anthem, Ariz. |
| Deimante Bulatovaite |
Sacramento State |
Jr. |
Kaunas, Lithuania |
| Agata Bachanek |
Weber State |
Sr. |
Gdansk, Poland |
Honorable Mention: Moira Hedberg - Eastern Washington; Janaya Smith - Eastern Washington; Faye Worrall - Eastern Washington; Lucia Badillos - Idaho; Naomi Holopainen - Montana State; Angelina Philippova - Montana State; Marta Lewandowska - Northern Arizona; Tracy Dong - Portland State; Anna-Maria Nau - Sacramento State; Veronika Rogova - Southern Utah; Kristi Elmer - Weber State
| 2016 Men's Tennis All-Conference Team |
| First Team |
| Player |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| Nathan Boniel (MVP) |
Portland State |
So. |
Sydney, Australia |
| %Robert Dula |
Eastern Washington |
Jr. |
Rijeka, Croatia |
| $Odon Barta |
Idaho |
Sr. |
Budapest, Hungary |
| $Felipe Fonseca |
Idaho |
So. |
Curitiba, Brazil |
| Victor Casadevall |
Montana |
So. |
Sant Celoni, Spain |
| Tim Handel |
Northern Arizona |
Fr. |
Reutlingen, Germany |
| Stefan Cooper |
Weber State |
So. |
England |
| $Todd Fought |
Weber State |
Sr. |
West Vancouver, B.C. |
| Second Team |
| Mark Kovacs |
Idaho |
So. |
Budapest, Hungary |
| Austin Mayo |
Northern Colorado |
Jr. |
Austin, Texas |
| Mikus Losbergs |
Sacramento State |
Fr. |
Marupe, Latvia |
| Sanjay Goswami |
Weber State |
Sr. |
Plano, Texas |
$Two-Time First Team Selection %-Three-Time First Team Selection
Honorable Mention: Harry James - Montana State; Lucas Taylor - Northern Arizona