UVA freshman Natasha Subhash and redshirt junior Rosie Johanson have been named the Atlantic Region Rookie of the Year and Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award recipients, respectively.
Subhash is the fifth Virginia player to win the ITA Atlantic Rookie of the Year honor and the second consecutive Cavalier to win the honor. Sophomore Amber O’Dell won the award last season.
Subhash joins Julia Elbaba (2013), Rachel Pierson (2014), Johanson (2017) and O’Dell in receiving the honor.
Subhash posted a 26- 6 on the season and reached a season-high ranking of No. 10 in the ITA women’s singles rankings – including a 15 wins over nationally-ranked opponents. She advanced to the semifinals at the Oracle/ITA Masters and the second round of the main draw at the ITA/Riviera All-American. She also claimed the ITA Atlantic Region title in singles among her season highlights on the shortened freshman campaign.
Johanson is the third Virginia player to win the ITA Cissie Leary Sportsmanship Award. She joins Stephanie Nauta (2015) and Julia Elbaba (2016) in receiving the distinction for the Cavaliers.
The Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship goes to a Division I women’s player who displays inspiring dedication and commitment to her team, which has enhanced her team’s performance and exemplified the spirit of college tennis. It dates back to 1997 and is memory of the late and widely admired Penn women’s tennis coach Cissie Leary.
Johanson returned to the lineup after missing a year due to injury and posted a 10-7 record that included a win over then No. 4 Alexa Graham of North Carolina at the Kitty Harrison Invitational in the fall.
The regional awards are voted on by the regional awards committee. By virtue of winning the regional honors, both players are eligible for the respective national award. The national winners of the awards will be announced next Monday during a special virtual awards ceremony.
The awards ceremony can be viewed on the ITA’s Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube channels.
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Chris Graham
