Callaway repeat headlines 2022 UMAC women's tennis awards

Callaway repeat headlines 2022 UMAC women's tennis awards

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ST. PAUL, Minn. -- For the second season in a row, University of Wisconsin-Superior junior Maya Callaway was selected as the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Women's Tennis Player of the Year following a perfect undefeated singles season, it was announced Wednesday.

In addition to Callaway, Matt Swigart repeated as Coach of the Year following the University of Northwestern's back-to-back regular season and tournament title. The Eagles' Annie Orvis was also named the first-ever UMAC Women's Tennis Rookie of the Year. 

This is the second-consecutive season in which Callaway has gone undefeated at the No. 1 singles spot against UMAC competition for the Yellowjackets. This year she was a perfect 8-0 winning all of her matches against conference foes in straight sets to help the Yellowjackets finish as runner-up. Additionally, Callaway was 4-4 in UMAC doubles play with three victories at the No. 2 position. Overall this season, Callaway was 14-9 at No. 1 singles. She was also selected as the UMAC Women's Tennis Player of the Week on Feb. 21. 

Northwestern has compiled one of the best season's in program history under Swigart's leadership. The Eagles boast a remarkable 21-3 record heading into the NCAA Championships Thursday and are riding a 20-match winning streak. This season the Eagles cruised to a 8-0 UMAC mark and recorded five perfect 9-0 wins against UMAC teams. Swigart's squad surrendered just six total points to UMAC teams all season and cruised to a pair of 5-0 decision wins in the UMAC tournament to earn the fourth NCAA Championships bid in program history.

One of the keys to the Eagles' success this season has been the stellar play of rookie Orvis near the top of the lineup. Orvis went 7-1 in UMAC play at the No. 2 singles position with five of those victories coming in straight sets. She also paired with senior Belinda Weddle at No. 1 doubles and went 6-1 against UMAC teams at that spot. 

The Eagles topped the All-UMAC list with four First Team selections and a conference-best six overall selections. This is the first season that the UMAC all-conference list has included First Team, Second Team and Honorable Mention designations. The Yellowjackets' Callaway and seven other players selected to one of the teams this year have also earned all-conference recognition one other time in their careers including Megan Arens (University of Minnesota Morris), Elli Dodge (Northwestern), Megan Dulong (Wisconsin-Superior), Kate Obright (Minnesota Morris), Kiley Rodarmel (Minnesota Morris), Taylar Smith (Northwestern) and Belinda Weddle (Northwestern).

Minnesota Morris was named the Team Sportsmanship winner on the women's side, which is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represents sportsmanship throughout the entire season, including the championship event. Each team also had one representative named to the individual sportsmanship award list. 

Player of the Year – Maya Callaway, Sr., Wisconsin-Superior
Rookie of the Year – Annie Orvis, Fy., Northwestern
Coach of the Year – Matt Swigart, Northwestern 
 
First Team UMAC All-Conference
Name Yr. School Hometown/High School
Maya Callaway Jr. Wisconsin-Superior Duluth, Minn./Duluth East
Elli Dodge So. Northwestern Wahpeton, N.D./Wahpeton
Megan Dulong Sr. Wisconsin-Superior Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids
Elise Jarchow Fy. Northwestern Luverne, Minn./Luverne
Annie Orvis Fy. Northwestern Rochester, Minn./Schaeffer Academy
Belinda Weddle Sr. Northwestern Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander

Second Team UMAC All-Conference
Name Yr. School Hometown/High School
Analise Marquardt Fy. Northewstern Parkers Prairie, Minn./Parkers Prairie
Kate Obright Sr. Minnesota Morris Andover, Minn./Anoka
Chiyono Owa Sr. Wisconsin-Superior Tokyo, Japan/Otsuma Nakano
Olivia Pfeffer Fy. Bethany Lutheran Mapleton, Minn./Maple River
Kiley Rodarmel So. Minnesota Morris Sartell, Minn./Sartell
Taylar Smith Jr. Northwestern Litchfield, Minn./Litchfield

Honorable Mention UMAC All-Conference
Name Yr. School Hometown/High School
Megan Arens Jr. Minnesota Morris Vining, Minn./Parkers Prairie
Sarah Hoffe Fy. Martin Luther Dakota, Minn./Luther
Kaytlyn Syverson Fy. Wisconsin-Superior Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids

UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award - Minnesota Morris
Sportsmanship Awards
Bethany Lutheran – Shoshana Bruner, Sr., Mankato, Minn./Mankato East
Martin Luther – Charis Glende, Fayetteville, N.C./Luther Prep
Minnesota Morris – Kiley Rodarmel, So., Sartell, Minn./Sartell
Northwestern – Belinda Weddle, Sr., Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander
Wisconsin-Superior – Chiyono Owa, Sr., Tokyo, Japan/Otsuma Nakano