University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Katia de la Garza, Suhana Das Earn All-Conference Accolades
5/3/2021 1:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss women's tennis student-athletes Katia de la Garza (second-team singles, doubles) and Suhana Das (second-team doubles) were honored by Conference USA on Monday for their outstanding seasons.
It also marks the first time since 2017 that the program boasted two all-league honorees. Carolin Drescher and Alex Kitchen earned singles honors that season. Sarah Medik was also named to the All-Freshman team in 2020.
"I'm very happy for Katia, as she had another tremendous season for us in singles and doubles," head coach Steve Schram said. "She has matured greatly since joining the program in 2018, and her level of play has improved throughout her career. These conference awards as a true testament to her work ethic and on court accomplishments."
De la Garza went 6-1 in singles, including matching a team-best 4-1 record against C-USA foes, including a win on No. 1 against Middle Tennessee in C-USA Tourney. All of her victories were in straight-sets, with her lone defeat coming against Mississippi State's Tamara Racine, who is No. 14 nationally in doubles (6-7, 6-2, 6-10). She also had a 7-5, 7-6 clinching win against UAB.
The Nuevo Leon, Mexico, native was also 9-1 in the shortened 2020 season and 10-3 as a sophomore, earning a C-USA weekly honor that year as well after transferring from West Alabama.
Das, a freshman (Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia) and de la Garza produced a team-best 6-1 doubles record, including a 3-0 C-USA mark with leads in unfinished bouts against UAB and Middle Tennessee (in the C-USA tourney). The other wins were against WKU (6-0), MT (6-3) and LA Tech (6-0). De la Garza is now 15-2 the last two years in doubles, competing with a freshman each year.
"Katia learned to adapt to tough situations and helped lead the way in doubles with Suhana, who had joined the team in January, which is not always easy," Schram said. "It was very nice to see her mentor Suhana, and they learned to work well together and became such a great doubles team. Congratulations to both!"
It also marks the first time since 2017 that the program boasted two all-league honorees. Carolin Drescher and Alex Kitchen earned singles honors that season. Sarah Medik was also named to the All-Freshman team in 2020.
"I'm very happy for Katia, as she had another tremendous season for us in singles and doubles," head coach Steve Schram said. "She has matured greatly since joining the program in 2018, and her level of play has improved throughout her career. These conference awards as a true testament to her work ethic and on court accomplishments."
De la Garza went 6-1 in singles, including matching a team-best 4-1 record against C-USA foes, including a win on No. 1 against Middle Tennessee in C-USA Tourney. All of her victories were in straight-sets, with her lone defeat coming against Mississippi State's Tamara Racine, who is No. 14 nationally in doubles (6-7, 6-2, 6-10). She also had a 7-5, 7-6 clinching win against UAB.
The Nuevo Leon, Mexico, native was also 9-1 in the shortened 2020 season and 10-3 as a sophomore, earning a C-USA weekly honor that year as well after transferring from West Alabama.
Das, a freshman (Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia) and de la Garza produced a team-best 6-1 doubles record, including a 3-0 C-USA mark with leads in unfinished bouts against UAB and Middle Tennessee (in the C-USA tourney). The other wins were against WKU (6-0), MT (6-3) and LA Tech (6-0). De la Garza is now 15-2 the last two years in doubles, competing with a freshman each year.
"Katia learned to adapt to tough situations and helped lead the way in doubles with Suhana, who had joined the team in January, which is not always easy," Schram said. "It was very nice to see her mentor Suhana, and they learned to work well together and became such a great doubles team. Congratulations to both!"
Players Mentioned
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