Agarycheva Named First Team All-Northwest Conference

SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette women's tennis player Natalia Agarycheva (Sr., Vancouver, WA/Prairie HS/U. of Northern Colorado) has been named First Team All-Northwest Conference for the second consecutive season in voting for the NWC head coaches.

In addition, junior Shannon Palmer (Salem, OR/Sprague HS) and freshman Sabrina Gutierrez (Newbury Park, CA/Newbury Park HS) were chosen Second Team All-NWC. A total of eight NWC athletes were selected for the First Team, with six more on the Second Team and five on the Honorable Mention list.

Agarycheva is 14-2 at #1 singles action this spring, including 11-0 in regular season NWC matches. She has achieved a record of 15-2 at #1 doubles, including 14-2 when combining with Palmer. Agarycheva and Palmer went 10-1 in doubles against NWC opponents during the regular season.

In the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings, Agarycheva is ranked #4 in singles in the West Region of NCAA Division III. Agarycheva and Palmer are ranked #3 in the West Region in doubles.

This past fall, Agarycheva won the singles title at the USTA/ITA Small College Northwest Regional. She competed at the USTA/ITA Small College Championships in Mobile, Ala.

Agarycheva was chosen NWC Women's Tennis Player of the Year in 2010, while earning First Team All-NWC honors. Also in the spring of 2010, she achieved a 20-4 overall record in singles and was 12-7 in doubles. She competed in singles at the NCAA Division III Singles Championship. She ended the year ranked #5 in singles and was #7 in doubles with Palmer.

This spring, Palmer has registered a 9-6 record in singles, including 8-6 at the #2 position. She has earned key victories over Lauren Jay of Hardin-Simmons University (Texas) and Erica Brosman of Whitworth University. Palmer was named First Team All-NWC as a freshman in 2009.

Gutierrez is 12-3 in singles in 2011, with a 9-1 mark in regular season NWC action. She is 7-0 at #3 singles and 3-1 at #4 singles. In doubles, Gutierrez has a 4-4 record in doubles.

Rachel Burns of Whitworth was named NWC Women's Tennis Player of the Year for 2011, while Elise Otto was chosen NWC Women's Tennis Sportswoman of the Year. Gundars Tilmanis from Lewis & Clark College was selected as the NWC Women's Tennis Coach of the Year.

Agarycheva was joined on the First Team All-NWC squad by Burns, Abby Olbrich of Linfield College, Alyssa Roberg and Elise Otto from Whitman College, Amalia Nilsson of Lewis & Clark, Cat Goya of Pacific and Alli Marshall of Whitworth.

The Bearcats, under the guidance of Head Coach Becky Roberts, finished the 2011 dual match season with a 10-7 record, including 7-5 in the NWC. The Bearcats were fourth in the NWC standings and advanced to the NWC Tournament. Willamette lost Whitworth, the NWC champion, in the semifinals.