#5 Women's Tennis 4/25/2023 4:27:00 PM

Beaman Named GSC Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year, Franco Named GSC Player of the Year, and Five Tigers Earn All-GSC Honors

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – West Alabama women's tennis head coach Jeff Beaman earned Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year for his fourth consecutive year. Haina Franco was named GSC Player of the Year, while five Tigers earned All-GSC honors.

Franco, Yurie Takanishi, and Heden Ly earned All-GSC honors on the women's team. Ilari Vesanen and Lucas Hammond earned All-GSC honors on the men's side.

"The women deserve all the credit for me being named GSC Coach of the Year," Beaman said. "We have a great group that went out and battled through when we did not have anybody to sub in when they were banged up or sick."

The women finished the regular season with a 16-5 overall record and went undefeated in conference play for the No. 1 seed in the GSC Championship Tournament.

The Tigers then clinched the GSC Tournament Championship title by defeating West Florida 4-0 in the championship match. UWA has a 19-5 overall record and will enter the NCAA South Regional Tournament as the No. 5 seed and take on the No. 4 seed Lynn University in the first round on Monday at noon CT.

Franco earned GSC Player of the Year and First Team All-GSC honors. She has played in 24 matches this season. She went 19-3 on court No. 1. In doubles play, paired with Ming Deewajee, the duo finished with an overall record of 14-9 on court No. 1. Franco was named GSC Player of the Week this season.

In GSC play, Franco went 9-1 in singles play. In doubles play, Franco and Deewajee were 6-3.

"Haina fully deserves this award," Beaman said. "She has had a great career at UWA and an outstanding year this season, leading the women to their fourth consecutive undefeated GSC Regular Season title and third consecutive GSC Tournament Championships title."

Takanishi earned First Team All-GSC honors and has a record of 13-8 on court No. 2. in singles play. Paired with her sister, Emiri Takanishi, the sisters are 14-6 on court No. 2. in doubles play. Y. Takanishi earned GSC Player of The Week once this season.

In conference play, Y. Takanishi finished with a record of 9-1. In doubles play, the duo went undefeated with a 9-0 record.

Ly earned Second Team All-GSC and has an overall record of 16-3 on court No. 3. Paired with Hardija Vidnere, the duo has a 13-3 overall record on court No. 3.

Ly finished with a 9-1 record in GSC singles play. In doubles play, the duo finished with a 7-1 record.

The men finished the regular season with a 13-9 overall record and went 6-3 in conference play to clinch the No. 4 seed in the GSC Championship Tournament. The men lost in the first round of the tournament and ended their season with a 13-10 overall record.

Vesanen and Hammond were both named Second Team All-GSC.

Vesanen finished with an overall record of 5-9 on court No. 1. Paired with Ilia Dehodiuk, the duo went 12-2 on court No. 2.

In GSC play, Vesanen finished with an overall record of 3-4. In doubles play, the duo went 6-1.

Hammond finished with an overall record of 11-4 in singles play. Paired with Marcel Hornung, the duo finished 13-2 in doubles.

In conference play, Hammond had a 7-1 overall record. In doubles play, the duo finished with an overall record of 7-1.

"Haina, Yurie, Heden, Ilari, and Lucas all have had great seasons, and it is nice to see them honored as All-GSC," Beaman said. "Both teams had some very big wins, and these players all played an important role and had some big wins in singles and doubles in the GSC this spring."

To stay connected with UWA Tennis, follow the University of West Alabama Tennis Instagram page at @uwa_tennis. General athletic news, along with game recaps and box scores, can be found at UWAAthletics.com. Additional updates and information are available @UWAAthletics on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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Players Mentioned

Haina Franco: 5' 3"; Fifth Year

Heden Ly: 5' 5"; Junior

Emiri Takanishi: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Hardija Vidnere: 5' 10"; Graduate Student

Yurie Takanishi: 5' 9"; Senior

Ilia Dehodiuk: 5' 11"; Fifth Year

Lucas Hammond: 5' 11"; Senior

Marcel Hornung: 6' 0"; Junior

Ilari Vesanen: 6' 2"; Fifth Year

Players Mentioned

Haina Franco
: 5' 3"; Fifth Year

Heden Ly
: 5' 5"; Junior

Emiri Takanishi
: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Hardija Vidnere
: 5' 10"; Graduate Student

Yurie Takanishi
: 5' 9"; Senior

Ilia Dehodiuk
: 5' 11"; Fifth Year

Lucas Hammond
: 5' 11"; Senior

Marcel Hornung
: 6' 0"; Junior

Ilari Vesanen
: 6' 2"; Fifth Year