Fabienne Schmidt, Danielle Morris receive All-OVC honors
Brentwood, TN – After her true freshman season was cut short by the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, Austin Peay State University’s Jana Leder has been named the Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Tennis Freshman of Year and a First-Team All-OVC selection; while senior Fabienne Schmidt and junior Danielle Morris both received Second-Team All-OVC honors as well, the league announced Friday.
A native of Remchingen, Germany, Leder is the third Governor to be named the OVC Freshman of the Year since the award was introduced in 2005, with all three winners now hailing from Germany. Schmidt, of Hillscheid, Germany, was the OVC Freshman of the Year in 2018 and Carolin Weikard, of St. Leon-Rot, Germany, received the honor in 2010.
With a team-best 11 singles wins this season, Leder finished the regular season on a ten-match winning streak, while playing exclusively No. 3 singles. Since arriving in Clarksville in January of 2020, Leder has posted a 22-3 record in singles play and has more singles wins than any other APSU Gov during that stretch.
In doubles action, Leder won seven times while playing on the No. 2 line for Austin Peay State University in each match this season. During the 2021 season, Leder won six times in doubles play with Aleks Topalovic and once with Martina Paladini-Jennings. In her brief collegiate career, Leder has played to a 13-7 mark in doubles action.
Leder’s First-Team All-OVC honors marks the fifth-straight season that APSU has had a first-team all-conference player.
With her second-straight Second-Team All-OVC selection, Schmidt has received All-OVC honors in each season that the awards have been handed during her collegiate career. Playing exclusively No. 1 singles this season, Schmidt posted an 8-5 mark and was one of two players in the OVC to be named the Women’s Player of the Week twice this season. Schmidt currently has 65 singles wins in her Austin Peay career, which is one of the top win totals in program history.
With a team-best 11-1 mark in doubles play this season, Schmidt and Morris partnered to win their first 10 matches this season before finally dropping a match at Belmont, April 13. Schmidt and Morris have 57 and 39 career doubles wins, respectively, which are two of the top career marks in program history.
Receiving the first All-OVC honors of her Austin Peay State University career, Morris posted an 8-5 mark while playing exclusively No. 2 singles in her junior campaign. A native of Brisbane, Australia, Morris won her final five singles matches of the season and picked up the first OVC Player of the Week Award of her career on April 14th.
Leder, Schmidt, Morris, and the rest of the Austin Peay State University women’s tennis team will be back in action at the OVC Women’s Tennis Championship when they play a semifinal match against Murray State, April 24th, at the Wesselman Tennis Center in Evansville, Indiana. For news, scores, and schedule updates, be sure to check back at LetsGoPeay.com or follow the Governors women’s tennis team on Twitter (@AustinPeayWTN).
2020-21 OVC Women’s Tennis All-Conference Honors
First Team All-OVC
Jana Leder, Austin Peay
Somer Henry, Belmont
Rachel Papavasilopoulos, Eastern Illinois
Harriet Hamilton, Jacksonville State
Sara Loncarevic, Murray State
Romana Tarjova, Southeast Missouri
Daniela Hlacikova, Southeast Missouri
(Seven appear on the first team due to ties)
Second-Team All-OVC
Danielle Morris, Austin Peay
Fabienne Schmidt, Austin Peay
Elizabeta Bukraba-Ulanov, Eastern Illinois
Sarah Bureau, Murray State
Ksenia Shikanova, Southeast Missouri
Jordan Schifano, SIU Edwardsville
Player of the Year: Romana Tarjova, Southeast Missouri
Co-Freshman of the Year: Jana Leder, Austin Peay; Daniela Hlacikova, Southeast Missouri
Coach of the Year: Mary Beth Gunn, Southeast Missouri
