2022 ITA DII Women's Regional Awards

​TEMPE, Ariz. – In a year where Academy of Art women's tennis returned to the Pacific West Conference semifinal, a pair of Urban Knights that anchored each end of the lineup have collected a postseason award as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) on Tuesday. Representing the West Region, Sofia Ragona was named the ITA Senior Player of the Year while freshman Paulina Alvarez was selected as the ITA Rookie of the Year. 

"Congratulations to both Sofia and Paulina for these regional awards," said ART U Head Coach Clarisse Baca. "Paulina has shown tremendous maturity on and off the court, and I am sure this is just the first of many awards to come. Sofia is very deserving of this award, especially after playing position No. 1 for us two years in a row. Every opponent that she has played was very challenging, and she grew a lot in her last two seasons."

A cornerstone to the ART U lineup from the No. 1 position, Ragona's final season was one for the books as she ended the year with both PacWest First Team Singles and Doubles honors. In singles action, Ragona accumulated a 7-4 regular season record exclusively from court one, and was at one time ranked No. 9 in the nation. During the year she recorded a five-match winning streak, and ultimately closed the regular season schedule with a triumph over No. 47 Maria Borodii of Fresno Pacific for her first win over a ranked opponent this campaign. 

Meanwhile in doubles play, Ragona and partner Yun "Nicole" Shiau have been quite the pair as a doubles tandem, posting an overall 7-3 doubles record this season exclusively from court one as well as capturing the ITA West Regional Doubles Championship. They would represent the Knights in Rome, Ga. on the national level at the ITA Cup, where they lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual champions.

For Alvarez, the true freshman ended her debut collegiate season with an impressive singles record of 11-3, with a total of 10 of her victories coming on court six while the other came on court four. Starting back in February, Alvarez would start on a six-match winning streak, and would ultimately win 11 of her last 12 matches thanks to closing the year with another five-match winning streak. Playing with a pair of different partners in doubles action, Alvarez totaled an overall record of 6-8 with three wins apiece on each court two and three. 

Every year the ITA recognizes coaches and players for their excellence on the court and in their communities throughout the season. This is the first such ITA award in the respective careers of Ragona and Alvarez, and they are the first Urban Knights to receive an ITA regional award since former Knight Mariacristina Andrisani collected a trio of awards after the 2019-20 season. Ragona is just the second Urban Knight in program history to be named the ITA West Region Senior Player of the Year, following Andrisani in 2020, while Alvarez is the first Knight in ART U history to collect her honor.