Ninon Martinache, Sonja Keranen Earn All-Sun Belt Women's Tennis Honors
4/23/2024 3:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Martinache earns first-team singles honors, duo earn second-team doubles accolades from the league
STATESBORO - Georgia Southern sophomore Ninon Martinache has been named to the Sun Belt Conference women's tennis All-Conference singles first team, while Martinache and senior Sonja Keranen were named to the All-Conference doubles second team with today's release of the yearly awards from the league.
Martinache assumed the No. 1 singles position for the Eagles during the season and compiled an impressive 17-2 singles record in the dual match season, at one point winning 12 straight matches from February 14 through April 14. She defeated the 2024 Sun Belt Player of the Year, No. 122-ranked Sofia Johnson, in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, on April 13 and went 7-1 in Sun Belt singles action, including a 4-1 mark at No. 1 singles.
The Dunkirk, France, native won 15 of her 17 singles matches in straight sets and also beat two other All-Sun Belt singles recipients - JMU's Daria Munteanu, 6-1, 6-1, on April 14 and South Alabama's Tereza Dejnozkova, 6-4, 6-1, on March 31. This is the first All-Conference singles honor for the sophomore in her career.
In doubles, Martinache and Keranen put together an impressive Spring campaign, going 13-5 overall with a 6-3 mark at the No. 1 doubles spot. The duo won 11 straight doubles matches from February 2 through March 29 and beat the No. 1 doubles teams from Troy, Louisiana, Coastal Carolina, Southern Miss, ULM and James Madison in Sun Belt action. This is the first All-Conference doubles honor for both Martinache and Helsinki, Finland, native Keranen.
Georgia Southern opens up action in the 2024 Sun Belt Tournament on Thursday, taking on the winner of No. 11 seed Louisiana and No. 14 seed ULM in a 2 p.m. second round match at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Ga.
