Cigui, Tomic Named ITA All-Americans
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Skillman, NJ – After finishing the season with a perfect 23-0 record, Paola Cigui was ranked fifth in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll which was released today by the organization. Cigui and her doubles partner, Milica Tomic, also finished the year inside the top-10 coming in at sixth.
With these final rankings, Cigui earns her first All-American status at Columbus State in singles action while Cigui and Tomic also earn the accolade as a doubles team.
Cigui becomes the 10th singles All-American in program history after having arguably the finest season ever by a Lady Cougar. She is just the third player in CSU history to finish the season ranked inside the top-five by the ITA. Current assistant coach Eva Huning was ranked fifth in 2009 while Diana Gherghi finished the 2005 season ranked fourth.
For the season, Cigui finished with a perfect 23-0 singles record playing all of her matches at the top position. The Italy native became the first player (male or female) in CSU history to finish the season with an unblemished record. She was 4-0 against nationally ranked opponents and 9-0 against regionally ranked foes. Cigui lost just four sets throughout the entire season.
The sophomore also received the ITA National Player to Watch Award which is given to a non-senior player that had an outstanding season and is expected to perform at a high level for the rest of their career.
Cigui was also named the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year becoming the first female tennis player in CSU history to win the award.
In doubles action, Cigui and Tomic were 13-3 and 5-1 inside the Peach Belt Conference. Together, they defeated four nationally ranked opponents including one victory over a top-10 ranked tandem. For their work in the regular season, the duo was a first team All-PBC selection.
Cigui and Tomic become just the fifth doubles pair to be awarded with the All-American status in program history.
As a team, the Lady Cougars checked in at seventh in the poll giving them back-to-back top-10 finishes in the national poll. CSU reached the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal round for just the second time in school history before falling to national runner-up BYU-Hawaii.
