ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced the 2019 NCAA Division II National Award Winners ahead of the championships at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla., and Texas A&M-Kingsville women's tennis assistant coach Vanessa Tavares was honored as the ITA Assistant Coach of the Year.

It is the first national honor for any coach donning the Blue and Gold and the first of Tavares' career as she was named the South Central Assistant Coach of the Year the previous week. The full awards list can be found at the following link: 2019 Division II Award Winners

Tavares grabbed the South Central Region honor as the top assistant as she completed her second season as a graduate assistant under the direction of head coach Autumn Williams to guide TAMUK to a 4-2 Lone Star Conference record play and a 12-8 overall mark.

It is the third straight year the Javelinas finished with a winning record overall and second such year in-a-row finishing over .500 in league play.

Thanks to her efforts, TAMUK climbed as high as No. 23 in the ITA Division II Women's Rankings following a 4-3 triumph over No. 15 Tarleton on March 29 in league play. The match featured a comeback effort from junior Victoria Romanovskaia (Simferopol, Crimea, Russia) in the third set against Faustine Pallete as she came away with a 7-5 decision off four consecutive points.

The Javelinas also defeated No. 35 St. Mary's (TX) on April 17 in a contest that will become a conference match starting in the 2020 spring season. Romanovskaia came in clutch once again for the Blue and Gold as she broke a 3-3 tie in the team score with a comeback against Isabelle Bergman with yet another 7-5 finish.

At the conclusion of the year, redshirt senior Lisa Carvajal (McAllen, Texas) and freshman Maya Donkor (McLean, Va.) secured a spot on the All-LSC doubles team with a 3-2 league record after spending most of the season in the ITA top 50 rankings and owned the No. 45 spot ahead of the conference championship.

Carvajal was also named to the All-LSC singles team with a 9-8 mark, while Romanovskaia joined classmates Julia Rauer (Leiselheim, Germany) and Valerie Ruiz (San Antonio, Texas) on the All-LSC honorable mention team.

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