Garrido Named to SoCon First Team All-Conference
4/17/2012 7:59:00 PM | Women's Tennis
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Georgia Southern sophomore Paola Garrido was named to the Southern Conference Women's Tennis Singles First Team All-Conference on Tuesday afternoon, as reported by the league office. Garrido, who was named to the All-Freshman Team last year, becomes the first Eagle selected to the First Team All-Conference since her head coach, Amy Bartlett Bonner, accomplished the feat in 2002. Voting for the All-Conference teams is conducted by the conference's head coaches who are not allowed to vote for their own players.
“I am very proud of Paola and all that she has accomplished this season,” said Bonner. “It is a great honor for her to be recognized as an All-Conference selection. She came through for us so many times this season and competed to the best of her ability week after week. We have so many strong competitors in the SoCon and for Paola to be recognized as one of the top players is truly an honor.”
Garrido's nomination should come as no surprise to Georgia Southern tennis fans. The Vigo, Spain native has notched an impressive 12-7 singles record on the year, 6-4 in SoCon action, while playing each match at the No. 1 singles position. She has recorded nine straight-set victories as well as three-set wins over Elon's fellow first-teamer, Jordan Johnston, Samford's Kristin Lewis, and Charleston Southern's Olga Makhova, a two-time Big South Conference Player of the Year. Garrido accomplished a rarity in collegiate tennis on March 2nd when she won three matches in one day against Western Carolina and Florida A&M due to rescheduling caused by rain. The sophomore has also posted an impressive 10-5 doubles record while partnering with Caitlin Kitchen (Kennesaw, Ga.) and Mimi Bollaci (Atlanta, Ga.).
The Garrido family has stockpiled a lengthy list of accolades on the year. Paola was named the SoCon Women's Tennis Player of the Week on February 14th as well as the SoCon Student Athlete of the Week on February 29th. Her brother, Alain Garrido (Vigo, Spain), is the senior captain of the Georgia Southern Men's Tennis team and was named the Georgia Southern Men's Scholar Athlete of the Year on April 3rd. The Garridos will look to continue their solid work on the court when they travel to Charleston to play in the first round of the SoCon Tennis Championships on Thursday morning.
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