Pac-12 Women's Tennis All-Conference Honors

UCLA’S ENA SHIBAHARA VOTED SINGLES PLAYER OF THE YEAR
STANFORD'S MICHAELA GORDON AND EMILY ARBUTHNOTT TABBED 
DOUBLES TEAM OF THE YEAR
STANFORD'S MICHAELA GORDON NAMED FRESHMAN/NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
STANFORD'S LELE FOROOD  VOTED COACH OF THE YEAR

SAN FRANCISCO – The Pac-12 Conference announced today the Pac-12 women’s tennis honors and All-Conference teams for the 2018 season, as determined by a polling of the Conference coaches. UCLA’s Ena Shibahara was voted Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year, STANFORD’s Michaela Gordon was tabbed Freshman/Newcomer of the Year and part of the Doubles Team of the Year with teammate Emily Arbuthnott. Cardinal head coach Lele Forood was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the sixth time.

Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year - Ena Shibahara, So., UCLA (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.)
Shibahara collects back-to-back Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year honors after earning the nod in 2017 in conjunction with Freshman/Newcomer of the Year. The No. 9 ITA nationally ranked singles player boasts a 22-8 record on UCLA’s top court. The sophomore earned 10 wins over top-50 ITA ranked opponents during the season, highlighted by victories over North Carolina’s No. 4 ranked player and Texas Tech’s No. 13 ranked player. Shibahara helped lead the Bruins to the Pac-12 Women’s Tennis Championship match, where she defeated Stanford’s Michaela Gordon on Court 1 and won her doubles match with teammate Alaina Miller on the third court.

Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year – Michaela Gordon, Fr., Stanford (Saratoga, Calif.)
Stanford’s No. 15 ITA nationally ranked Gordon was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year after leading the Cardinal to its third-straight Conference title. Gordon posted a 21-8 overall record at top flight singles and went 12-7 in dual matches in her rookie campaign. Gordon secured four match-clinching points for the Cardinal this year, including the Pac-12 Championship tournament semifinals win over Washington State. She went 11-3 against Pac-12 players and 8-6 against nationally ranked opponents to earn a spot in the NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles Championship. Gordon is the first Cardinal to win freshman of the year since 2011 (Kristie Ahn) and is the fifth recipient in program history.

Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year – Emily Arbuthnott, So., (Harpenden, Hertfordshire, England) and Michaela Gordon, Fr., (Saratoga, Calif.), Stanford

Stanford’s top doubles pair of Arbuthnott and Gordon posted a sterling 16-4 overall record and 8-3 mark in dual play during the 2018 season. The duo was ranked in the ITA top-3 for nine weeks, climbing to the No. 1 spot on Feb. 20. The underclass pair went 8-2 against nationally ranked opponents and received the No. 3 overall seed in the NCAA Women’s Tennis Doubles Championships. In November, the tandem captured the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships title defeating the Ole Miss team (6-4, 6-1) in the final.

Pac-12 Coach of the Year – Lele Forood, Stanford
Forood has been named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the sixth time in her 18 seasons at Stanford. The Cardinal posted an 18-3 overall record and went 9-0 in Pac-12 play for the program’s 11th undefeated Conference slate. Stanford earned its third-straight Pac-12 title at the 2018 Pac-12 Women’s Tennis Championship for the 14th crown in school history. Stanford claimed the Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which marks its 37th consecutive postseason appearance. During Forood’s coaching tenure, the Cardinal has compiled a 432-43 record, participated in 17 NCAA Tournaments and captured eight NCAA team titles with the latest coming in 2016 followed by a runner-up finish in 2017. Forood has also contributed to individual success, coaching five NCAA singles champions and five NCAA 

Honorable Mention: Abby Altick, UCLA; Emily Arbuthnott, STAN; Terri Fleming, UCLA; Nicole Fossa-Huergo, ASU; Ilze Hattingh, ASU; Olivia Hauger, CAL; Emma Higuchi, STAN; Caroline Lampl, STAN; Alaina Miller, UCLA; Daniela Nasser, ORE; Alexia Petrovic, UTAH; Shweta Sangwan, ORE; Janice Shin, STAN; Rianna Valdes, USC.