Avdeeva, Horvath Selected to All-Big 12 Team
May 1, 2007
LAWRENCE, Kan. — The <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>University of Kansas’ No. 1 doubles tandem of junior Elizaveta Avdeeva and sophomore Edina Horvath has been named All-Big 12, and Avdeeva was selected to the All-Big 12 singles team as well, the conference office announced on Tuesday. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
The award is the first time Horvath has been named all-conference in her career, while Avdeeva also garnered All-Big 12 singles and doubles accolades last season as a sophomore.
Horvath and Avdeeva competed together to produce one of the Big 12’s top doubles campaigns in 2006-07. The duo went a combined 23-9, including a 15-7 mark this spring, which were both team-highs. The tandem also finished with a regular-season league record of 7-4, which was the conference’s second-best mark in the No. 1 position behind only Texas A&M’s team of Clifford and Foster that went 10-1.
Avdeeva and Horvath won the championship of the ITA Central Regional Tournament in October, and twice put together streaks of five consecutive victories during the spring campaign. The duo ended its season on a high note, defeating OU’s team of Baker and Lykina in a thrilling tiebreak contest in KU’s 4-3 loss to the Sooners in the first round of the Big 12 Championships.
The tandem’s 23 combined victories were more than twice what any other KU duo recorded, and accounted for more than half of the Jayhawks’ 44 total doubles wins.
An Obninsk, Russia, native, Avdeeva also put together a stellar season in singles play. The junior finished with a combined record of 15-18, nearly all of which came in the No. 1 position, and her eight wins this spring were third-most on the squad. Avdeeva faced a slew of talented singles players this season as she competed in nine matches against nationally-ranked opponents.
Other league awards announced on Tuesday included Big 12 women’s and men’s Player of the Year honors, which went to Baylor’s Zuzana Zemenova and Lars Poerschke. A complete list of all conference awards can be seen here.
