Three Tennis Players Garner All-American Status

Three Brenau tennis players were among the 2016 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) All-American team members, the national office announced on Tuesday.

Senior Fatyha Berjane and freshmen Rebecca Pijls and Maya Mammetgulyyeva were each honored for their performances during the 2016 season.

Berjane, the 2016 Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Player of the Year, was one of sixteen student-athletes to earn first team honors. During her senior campaign, the Casablanca, Morocco native was undefeated in SSAC play and sported an individual record of 18-3 this season. Berjane collected numerous accolades during her two-year career as a Golden Tiger, including being named the 2016 ITA Senior Player of the Year, 2016 First Team All-SSAC and was also a 2015 First-Team All-American.

"Fatyha just had a near perfect season," said head coach Andre Ferreira. "This is an incredible achievement given the strength of our schedule with so many matches against ranked teams and ranked opponents."

Pijls tops off her impressive inaugural season with second-team All-American honors. The Beek, Netherlands native notched a 19-9 individual record in the rigorous SSAC and was also honored as an All-Conference player.

"Rebecca arrived at Brenau and didn't have an incredible fall season as her results were good but not amazing," said Ferreria. "But she worked hard on her game, put in the extra hours on her own, and that was a recipe for success. On top of that, she is just a tremendous competitor."

"By the middle of the spring she had brought her tennis, both in singles and doubles, to a new level. She's had solid performances against the top teams this season and it just shows the potential she has."

Mammetgulyyeva was also rewarded with All-American Honorable Mention stats for her strong first season. During her first year, the Ashgabat, Turkmenistan native posted a 15-11 singles record and 17-9 doubles record.

"Maya is such a fighter," noted Ferreira. "She runs for every ball even when they seem impossible; and in the process of doing so she gets to balls that you don't expect she will. This is, to me, her greatest asset on the court. Together with her solid game and technique, and it's not difficult to see why she's also on this list."