Tech Women's Tennis Player Otunchieva Gains ITA Honor
Freshman One of Only Eight Recognized Nationwide
HOUGHTON--Aijana Otunchieva (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan/#6) of the Michigan
Tech women’s tennis team has been recognized by the Intercollegiate
Tennis Association as the Player to Watch in the Great Lakes Region. She
was one of just eight student-athletes in the country to be selected for
the honor (one each from eight regions nationwide). Otunchieva’s award is the first-ever regional accolade for a Tech
women’s tennis player in the 27-year history of the program. The freshman was Michigan Tech’s Terry Wilson Award winner, significant
of the top female freshman student-athlete, and an All-GLIAC Second Team
selection after helping MTU to its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament,
a school record 18 wins and a fourth-place finish in the conference. The
17-year-old finished with a 23-5 overall singles record and 20-4 mark
at number four singles, which ranks her second all-time at that position.
Otunchieva also paired with team MVP Laura Matzka at number one doubles
to go 21-6. She owns a 3.30 cumulative grade point average in business
administration. “It’s great for Aijana to be recognized for her outstanding
play over the past season and her continued improvement,” said MTU
Head Coach Mike Axford. “She is a real asset to our team and has
an extremely bright future ahead.” Notes: Only freshmen and sophomores were eligible to be nominated for
the regional Player to Watch award . . . Award winners were selected by
the ITA Awards Committee in each region. 6/6/02
