FOREST, Va. --- ODAC champion Washington and Lee University saw three athletes garner special individual recognition and four players earn first team selections to highlight the 2024 All-ODAC Women's Tennis Awards.

Generals top-flight singles player Lauren Long repeated as the ODAC Player of the Year, while WLU mentor Erin Ness collected her third straight ODAC Coach of the Year honor. Fellow General Izzy Koziol received ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year laurels from the league's athletic communications personnel. Randolph College first-year Lena Kersten earned ODAC Rookie of the Year plaudits from the conference's head coaches.

For the second straight year, much of this year's All-ODAC list features standouts that did not feature on last season's awards teams with just seven repeat honorees. Long is a repeat first team singles choice, while teammate Gabi Moss moved up from last year's All-ODAC Second Team singles chart. In doubles play, Sweet Briar College's Ana Patino and Maria Caro were both first teamers last year and are again as members of different doubles partnerships.

On the second team, SBC's Isabela Guilarte is a repeat honoree in the singles ranks. Averett University's Brenda Poulakidas also appears for a second time in the doubles section as a member of a different standout Cougars unit.

Long, a sophomore from Carmel, Ind., now has three major ODAC awards to her name after winning top player and rookie honors in 2023. Long set the tone early foreshadowing a strong second season in Lexington by earning a semifinal spot in the ITA Regional Championships in the fall. Ranked 19th in the ITA's Atlantic South Region, Long and teammate Moss earned selections to the NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship singles draw. They will continue their seasons at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in St. Louis, Mo., on May 25-27. Long, an All-American last season, currently owns a 17-4 mark in all singles matches including 13-2 from the top flight and 5-0 in ODAC play. She owns a 15-5 doubles including a 14-5 showing when partnered with Moss.They are ranked sixth in the region.

Ness is in her 12th year guiding the Generals women's tennis program. This her eighth overall and third straight ODAC top coaching award, grouping it with recognition she received from the league's coaches in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023. Washington and Lee is currently ranked 11th in Division III and third in the Atlantic South Region in polls administered by the ITA. W&L claimed its 21st straight and 33rd overall ODAC women's tennis title earlier this month.

Kersten, a first-year from Bonn, Germany, had a banner first season in the Hill City on the way to an All-ODAC First Team selection. Kersten finished the season with an 19-0 overall record in all singles matches including a 10-0 showing in ODAC matches. She also went 12-6 in all doubles matches, partnering Heather Whetzel, Sabrina Dickerson, or Noura Elkhansa in those outings. Kersten closed the season as the 16th-ranked singles player in the ITA's Atlantic South Region.

Koziol, a senior from Wilton, Conn., shines both on and off the court for Washington and Lee. In the classroom, Koziol maintains a 3.86 grade point average as a business administration major with a minor in environmental studies. She is a seven-term honoree as a W&L Scholar Athlete along with three selections each as an ITA Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-ODAC. Upon graduation, Koziol will work as a healthcare investment banking analyst at Leerink Partners, an outfit with which she interned in 2023. In 2022, she spent the summer as an intern at Marathon Capital, a clean energy investment bank based in New York City. On campus, Koziol volunteers at Campus Kitchen and has completed Generals Leadership Academy. She is an Earth Action Leader and provides philanthropy for Project Horizon through the Delta Society.

On the court, Koziol was an All-ODAC First Team choice at #2 singles in 2023. This year, she posted a 13-4 record in all singles matches including a 5-1 mark in ODAC play. She went 18-5 in all doubles matches. For her career, Koziol owns a 97-43 record in all matches including a 49-22 singles mark and a 48-21 doubles record.

Listed below is the allotment of All-ODAC Women's Award winners.

ODAC Player of the Year: Lauren Long, So., Washington and Lee
ODAC Coach of the Year: Erin Ness, Washington and Lee
ODAC Rookie of the Year: Lena Kersten, Fy., Randolph
ODAC/VAFB Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Izzy Koziol, Sr., Washington and Lee

ALL-ODAC FIRST TEAM
#1 Singles: Lena Kersten, Randolph College
#1 Singles: Lauren Long, Washington and Lee University *
#2 Singles: Siddhi Khandelwal, Averett University
#2 Singles: Gabi Moss, Washington and Lee University ^
#3 Singles: Grace Lorenz, Washington and Lee University
#4 Singles: Dilara Sultanova, Averett University
#5 Singles: Juliana Caracciolo, Sweet Briar College
#6 Singles: Meagan Donovan, Washington and Lee University

#1 Doubles: Keira Gunning ^ / Siddhi Khandelwal - Averett University
#1 Doubles: Alex Guilarte / Ana Patino * - Sweet Briar College
#2 Doubles: Maria Caro * / Isabela Guilarte - Sweet Briar College
#3 Doubles: Elisa Battermann / Dilara Sultanova - Averett University

ALL-ODAC SECOND TEAM
#1 Singles: Jennika Jaison, Averett University
#1 Singles: Isabela Guilarte, Sweet Briar College ^
#2 Singles: Olivia Guzzo, Shenandoah University
#3 Singles: Alex Guilarte, Sweet Briar College
#4 Singles: Maria Caro, Sweet Briar College
#5 Singles: Kaitlyn Chalker, Washington and Lee
#6 Singles: Isadora Lima, Sweet Briar College

#1 Doubles: Olivia Guzzo / Tanea Spruill - Shenandoah University
#2 Doubles: Jennika Jaison / Brenda Poulakidas ^ - Averett University
#3 Doubles: Juliana Caracciolo / Guusje van Eekelen - Sweet Briar College

* 2023 All-ODAC 1st Team
^ 2023 All-ODAC 2nd Team