FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4-17-08

Iuliia Stupak Named PBC Player Of The Year, PBC Women's Tennis Teams Announced

Stupak earns the award for the second straight season and gives AASU its 12th Player of the Year award in program history. The Kiev, Ukraine, native is the fourth player to win the award more than once, and did so after a season in which she went 20-0 in singles, extending her consecutive singles win streak to 53, dating back to the fall of 2006. The No. 2-ranked singles player in the nation, Stupak has not dropped a set to a DII player this year and was the PBC's Player of the Week six times.

Muller-Wehlau earns the league's Freshman of the Year award after ascending to No. 11 in the nation in singles, posting a 20-3 singles record this spring. The sixth AASU player to be named Freshman of the Year, the Flesnburg, Germany, native was a two-time PBC Player of the Week this year and has three wins over nationally-ranked singles opponents this spring.

Head coach Simon Earnshaw earns his unprecedented sixth PBC Women's Tennis Coach of the Year award and fourth in the last five seasons for leading AASU to a 23-1 overall record, a 10-0 PBC mark and a No. 2 national ranking. AASU won its fifth straight PBC regular season championship this season and is the four-time defending PBC Tournament champions.

Stupak and Muller-Wehlau also earned All-PBC singles and doubles honors, and are joined on the league's All-Conference team by senior Johanna Dahlback (singles), sophomore Gabriella Kovacs (doubles) and sophomore Martina Beckmann (doubles).

AASU opens up action in the 2008 PBC Tennis Championships on Friday at 6:30 p.m. against the winner of the North Georgia/Lander match.

- Pirates -