ATLANTA, Ga. (April 25, 2024) – Southern Athletic Association women’s tennis champion Sewanee swept the major awards to headline 2024 All-SAA teams. Katherine Petty was voted the Athlete of the Year while Mariella Congeni was named the Newcomer of the Year. Tigers legend Conchie Shackelford earned the seventh SAA Coach of the Year honor in her illustrious career.
 
Petty went 3-0 in conference dual matches, winning all three in the No. 1 flight in straight sets. She teamed with Brooke Despriet for a 2-0 mark in SAA doubles play and together are the No. 5 ranked duo in the nation. Petty picked up a SAA singles Athlete of the Week award on April 8 after earning a pair of decisive SAA wins. Twice this season Petty joined Despriet as SAA doubles Athletes of the Week after posting three-straight wins over nationally ranked opponents on back-to-back weeks. She is the sixth different Tiger to be voted SAA Athlete of the Year, joining Emma Smith (2023), Alice Hall (2022), Catherine Owen (2019), and Bronte Goodhue who won three-straight from 2013-2015.
 
Congeni posted a 5-0 mark in SAA singles play and joined Nicole Nowak to go 5-0 in doubles action. She won each of her singles matches in straight sets, including a 2-0 mark in the top-flight. Congeni and Nowak were 2-0 at No. 1, 2-0 at No. 2, and 1-0 at No. 3 positions. Combined in doubles, they outscored opponents 40-14 this season. Congeni is the fifth Sewanee player named Newcomer of the Year, along with Brooke Despriet (2022), Catherine Owen (2018), Eliza Czura (2017) and Lindsey Liles (2013).
 
Shackelford is in her 37^th year leading the Sewanee women’s tennis program and has built a career record nearly unmatched in collegiate tennis. She led the Tigers to their 10^th SAA championship and ran its current conference winning streak to 66-straight matches. The Coach of the Year honor is the third in a row for Shackelford and seventh overall.
 

---

2024 Women’s Tennis All-Conference Awards 
Athlete of the Year – Katherine Petty, Sewanee
Newcomer of the Year – Mariella Congeni, Sewanee
Coach of the Year – Conchie Shackelford, Sewanee
 
First Team Singles
Ansley Carpenter, Sewanee
Brooke Despriet, Sewanee
Camille Fremaux, Millsaps
Lauren Masteller, Berry
Katherine Petty, Sewanee
Gracie Rask, Rhodes
 
First Team Doubles
Juliana Mascagni/Lauren Masteller, Berry
Katherine Petty/Brooke Despriet, Sewanee
Maddy Trinh/Grace Williams, Centre
 
Second Team Singles
Eleanor Burks, Hendrix
Mariella Congeni, Sewanee
Juliana Mascagni, Berry
Emma McHale, Rhodes
Grace Williams, Centre 
Madison Williams, Millsaps
 
Second Team Doubles
Camille Fremaux/Madison Williams, Millsaps
Emma McHale/Gracie Rask, Rhodes
Nicole Nowak/Mariella Congeni, Sewanee