Women's Tennis | 4/11/2013 11:16:00 AM

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Six Methodist women's tennis players, as well as Head Coach Francie Barragan, were honored on Thursday afternoon as the USA South released its 2013 Women's Tennis All-Conference awards.
 
Kat Meindl and Laura Baker were each named first team all-conference, Isabella Graf and Kelli Shelton were both placed on the second team, Rachel Purser nabbed third team accolades and Hillary Petruska was selected to the honorable mention squad. Additionally, Barragan brought home her sixth consecutive USA South Coach of the Year honor as MU is 17-2 on the season and currently riding a 16-match win streak. The Monarchs rolled through the USA South with a perfect 11-0 record en route to claiming the regular season championship.
 
For Meindl, the first team selection marks the fourth time in as many years that she has earned the honor. This season she is 9-8 at No. 1 singles, including 6-4 mark in conference play. She has also posted a combined 14-3 record at No.1 doubles, with 13 of those wins coming with Baker as her partner.
 
Baker joins Meindl on the first team after earning second team laurels in each of her first two seasons. She has posted a 16-2 overall singles record, with all of her matches being played at No. 2. She played in each conference match and boasted a perfect 11-0 mark. She and Meindl were also a perfect 8-0 in conference doubles matches.
 
Shelton earned her third postseason honor from the league after an honorable mention selection two years ago and a third team nod last season. She is 17-2 on the season playing primarily at No. 4 singles and she was a perfect 11-0 in league play. Her current 16-match win streak as an individual is tied with Purser for the best on the team. In doubles she has posted a combined 8-0 record while playing with three different partners.
 
Joining Shelton on the second team was Graf, a two-time USA South Rookie of the Week. Playing at No. 3 singles this season, she has a 13-4 overall record, including an 8-1 mark in league play. In doubles, she and Petruska have gone 13-3 overall and 9-1 in conference while playing the majority of their matches at No. 2.
 
Purser took home her fourth all-conference citation in as many years by being named to the third team. She was a second team selection in 2010, and earned first team accolades each of the past two seasons. This season, she has posted a perfect 16-0 record in dual matches (10-0 USA South), with the majority of those wins coming at No. 5 singles. In doubles, she teamed with Emily Talley to record a 10-0 record at No. 3 while going 4-1 with several other partners for a combined record of 14-1.
 
Finally, Petruska garnered her first postseason recognition from the USA South with her selection to the honorable mention squad. She has notched a 14-3 record in singles, including an 11-2 mark at No. 6 while teaming with Graf for the aforementioned 13-3 record in doubles play.
 
Additionally, the USA South selected an All-Sportsmanship team with one player from each institution included. Meindl was the Monarchs' selection.
 
Meredith College's Puja Patel collected Player of the Year honors, Averett University's Suvi Salminen earned Rookie of the Year accolades.
 
Methodist, the USA South Tournament's top seed, will look to defend its conference tournament crown when it opens postseason play on Friday afternoon against No. 8 William Peace on Friday at 1:00 pm on the campus of N.C. Wesleyan.