STATESBORO - The Georgia Southern women's tennis team put together another outstanding season in 2024, thanks to the efforts of a stellar senior class.

The five seniors - Paula Hijos, Sonja Keranen, Sophie Wagemaker, Silvia Martinez and Lindsay Tulenko - were a part of an unprecedented stretch of Eagle women's tennis that has seen the program notch 68 wins over the last four years, as well as a dominating 36-7 record at the Wallis Tennis Center during that stretch.

Four of the five seniors finished their careers making their mark on the Georgia Southern all-time charts. Hijos won 71 singles matches in her five-year career, breaking the all-time school record for singles wins, while Martinez ended up ranking tied for eighth all-time with 46 singles wins. Keranen won 56 doubles matches, which ties her with Anita Buggins (1994-98) and Britta Wilms (1995-98) atop the all-time doubles chart, while Wagemaker's 43 doubles wins tie her for sixth all-time. Hijos' 84 all-time combined singles and doubles wins are tied for seventh all-time, while Martinez's 77 combined wins are tied for 11th.

Georgia Southern began the 2024 season with an 11-1 start, which was the second-best start in school history, and the team achieved a new best ITA national team ranking of No. 67 on January 28. It's the second straight year in which the Eagles have been nationally ranked.

Head coach Sean McCaffrey sat down to help us look back at another incredible season and look forward to what 2024-25 will bring for the Eagles!

The Spring was another season filled with highlights for the Eagles, including a program-best No. 67 national ranking and an 11-1 start to the season that was the second-best in school history. What are some of the takeaways from another successful campaign?

This past year was very successful in so many ways. First, earning an ITA national team ranking is not easy. You need to win, you need to have a strong schedule, and then it's important to also sustain that greatness over a long period of time. I believe we had an overall strong season that once again yielded a number of program "bests."  Watching Paula setting the all-time singles record, and Sonja tying the all-time doubles win record both in the same year was really impressive. Beginning the season 11-1 was also a fantastic run that all of us may not have anticipated once the season started. A few key early season wins along with some extremely hot starts from some of our women had us pointed in the right direction and gave us hope that a conference championship was within reach.

We were also quite proud of both Ninon Martinache in singles, and Sonja and Ninon in doubles as they earned All-Sun Belt Conference honors, with Ninon also earning Sun Belt Player of the Week honors twice during the year. What also should not be overlooked was the exceptional play of freshman Mackenzie Leopold throughout the season. The work she put in as she helped a senior heavy team was quite impressive.

I know we, as a group, had our hearts set on competing for another conference championship, and I believe we had the team to do it. Hats off to Old Dominion for fielding another strong team this year. I do feel as if we were quite close in the end, yet it was not meant to be. But we absolutely must celebrate the many achievements the program had this year. And we had countless moments that each and every member of the program can look back on and be proud of.

Your senior class has had a lot to do with the program's tremendous growth over the last four (and five) seasons. Four of your seniors now appear on the all-time charts with Paula and Silvia on the singles chart, Sonja and Sophie on the doubles chart, while Lindsay accomplished much in her two seasons with the Eagles. What have their contributions meant to this school and how have they helped build the foundation of now what has become such a competitive and respected program?

Those five women really did a phenomenal job of making certain they have left the program a little better than where they found it. Pauli, Sonja and Sophie were all members of the 2021 team that won the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship and helped the Eagles achieve its first NCAA Championships appearance. Silvia was a two-time first team all conference in singles, and Lindsay went out and would grind each and every day in competition and in matches ... nobody ever outworked Lindsay. These five women have left their mark on this program that will no doubt be felt for years to come. I believe that when teams get ready to face our program in a match, they know they will get a fight; they know they face a team that refuses to quit, refuses to give up, and is relentless and resilient. This is something that won't go away any time soon and has become the fabric of what makes this team special. I am sure that the future of the program is squarely focused on this path of continued growth, thanks in large part to our graduating seniors and all they have contributed towards success into each and every aspect of the team.

In addition to what the Eagles have done on the court, your teams continue to impress in the classroom as well, setting new program highs this season for academic recognition. How important is that to your coaching philosophy?  

We are quite proud of setting a new program record GPA for the year as the ladies earned a 3.82 overall GPA for the entire academic year - including four women that earned a perfect 4.0 for both semesters. We also had four women earn Academic All-District honors as Silvia, Pauli, Lindsay and Ninon earned this recognition and it appears as if eight of the women will earn ITA All-Academic Team honors. It's easy to judge a season, or year, on the results while on the court, but we must not lose sight of the all important "student" part of the student-athlete role these ladies play. I am beyond proud of the team as they have met and exceeded every goal that is put in front of them academically. They show up to class and always work hard in order to do all they can to help the team. On the court, in the classroom, and in the community, I could not be more proud of what they accomplish as they work their way towards earning a degree from Georgia Southern University. And as an alum myself, I am honored that these ladies represent our University as they go out into the professional world upon graduation.

The upcoming 2024-25 season will be one of transition obviously, but what can fans of the Eagles expect from the team next year? 

This upcoming year will be very exciting and one with so many opportunities as we look to see which of our Eagles will step up next.  With five incoming freshman, we will be one of the youngest teams in the nation.  Earning the #22 ranked recruiting class in the nation was a nice bump for us, but we all know that very little can be counted on until the team actually begins play and the results start coming in. I see very little changing when it comes to our strong team character and team chemistry - we will always have each other's backs. I believe our tight knit bond and team culture will once again be among the strongest in the nation.  We will seek to provide an exciting level of tennis and demonstrate a high level of integrity as we compete, and we will do so with a lot of heart and energy each time we step foot on the court ... playing without fear.  

It will also be a great opportunity to see who out of the newest Eagles will be ready to step up to the challenge. They all have some pretty big shoes to fill with so many ladies that have graduated. I have an extremely good feeling that this new group of Eagles will be ready for the challenge and will carry the torch into the future.