NATCHITOCHES-- The Northwestern State Lady Demons tennis team is known for its success in the classroom, and this season was no different, as the league announced Thursday that Judit Castillo Gargallo, Emilija Dancetovic and Ela Iwaniuk were named Academic All-Southland Conference.

Castillo Gargallo and Dancetovic both were first team selections, while Iwaniuk made the second team. The three Lady Demons were the most one team had on the All-Academic teams. Sam Houston and Abilene Christian had two players each on the teams.

Castillo Gargallo and Dancetovic were automatic selections due to their strong performance on the court, where both were All-Southland selections earlier this month, and in the classroom.

It is the second time Castillo Gargallo has been honored as an Academic All-Southland recipient. Only her and Central Arkansas' Marli Van Heerden can claim that distinction this season.

"We are very proud of Judit, Ema and Ela for this honor," head coach Patric DuBois said. "All three do a great job in the classroom, on the court and in our community."

Joining Castillo Gargallo and Dancetovic on the first team were Sahaja Yamalapalli and Lusine Chobanyan of Sam Houston State, Illeana Mocciola of Abilene Christian and Van Heerden.

After earning Southland Conference Player of the Year honors, Yamalapalli also was named Student-Athlete of the Year. Polina Mutel won both of those honors in 2018.

Along with Iwaniuk, the second team consisted of Charoline Erlandsson of McNeese, Katya Cornejo of Southeastern Louisiana, Trang Dao of New Orleans, Jordan Henry of Abilene Christian and Maria Maldonado of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Nominees must have a minimum 3.00 cumulative grade point average. Voting was done by head coaches, sports information directors and academic advisors of the 13 Southland Conference schools.

Castillo Gargallo, a junior from Teruel, Spain, sports a 3.91 GPA and was a dominant force in both doubles and singles on the court, as she was named first team All-Southland in doubles and second team in singles.

Playing mostly at the No. 6 spot, she finished third on the team with 15 wins, and was playing her best down the stretch, winning her last two matches in the regular season and putting together dominating performances against New Orleans and Central Arkansas in the conference tournament.

Dancetovic, a junior from Belgrade, Serbia, has a 3.80 GPA and was Castillo Gargallo's partner in doubles, which the pairing earned a first team all-conference nod.

She was 15-5 in doubles, including 13-3 overall with Castillo Gargallo and 5-2 in conference action. She also won her only singles match that was completed.

Iwaniuk, a junior from Konarskie, Poland, has a 3.48 GPA and was a force toward the back of the Lady Demons rotation. Her 17-4 record earned her a second team All-Southland honor, which is her second consecutive all-conference selection.

Iwaniuk's 17 singles victories was good enough for 12th place for the highest single-season winning percentage in school history. With her 10-1 conference record this season, she is now an impressive 19-3 in league play in her two years with the Lady Demons.
 

2019 Southland Women's Tennis All-Academic Teams

Student-Athlete of the Year: Sahaja Yamalapalli, Sam Houston State

First Team
Name                         Class         School                                    Hometown                             Major                                         GPA
Sahaja Yamalapalli^*     So.         Sam Houston State              Hyderabad, India                   Food Science & Nutrition            4.0
Lusine Chobanyan*        Jr.          Sam Houston State              Yerevan, Armenia                  Accounting                                 3.82
Emilija Dancetovic*         Jr.          Northwestern State              Belgrade, Serbia                   Business Administration             3.80
Judit Castillo Gargallo*2 Jr.          Northwestern State              Teruel, Spain                         Heath & Exercise Science          3.91
Illeana Mocciola*            So.         Abilene Christian                  Rio Negro, Argentina            Management                              3.81
Marli Van Heerden*2       Sr.         Central Arkansas                 George, South Africa             Accounting                                 3.79

Second Team
Name                           Class         School                                   Hometown                             Major                                         GPA
Katya Cornejo                 So.       Southeastern Louisiana         Aguascalientes, Mexico        Engineering Technology            4.00
Trang Dao                       Sr.        New Orleans                          Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam    Exercise Physiology                  3.70
Charoline Erlandsson      Sr.       McNeese                                Stockholm, Sweden              Management                             3.72
Jordan Henry                   Sr.       Abilene Christian                    Oklahoma City, Okla.            Communication Disorder           4.00
Ela Iwaniuk                       Jr.       Northwestern State                Konarskie, Poland                 Physical Sciences                     3.48
Maria Maldonado             Jr.       Texas A&M-Corpus Christi     El Ejido, Spain                       Finance                                     4.00

^Student-Athlete of the Year
*-Automatic Selection
2-Two-Time All-Academic Selection
3-Three-Time All-Academic Selection