NORMAL, Ill. – Diana Tkachenko was named the Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year while Chieko Yamada earned a spot on the league's All-Select Team as the MVC announced its women's tennis postseason awards on Thursday.
Tkachenko completed a spectacular freshman campaign at UE as she went 31-8 overall and 6-1 in conference play. She also had a nice fall season, highlighted by a 2nd place finish at #2 singles in the MVC Individual Tournament. Her impressive run through the MVC included wins over SIU, UNI, Missouri State, Drake, Bradley and Illinois State.