Zinchenko Named UAA Rookie of the Year; Four Others Honored on All-UAA Team
(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) – Carnegie Mellon University first-year athlete Shelly Zinchenko has been named the University Athletic Association (UAA) Women's Tennis Rookie of the Year with four others earning All-Association honors. Zinchenko is the third UAA Rookie of the Year for the Tartans and first since 2008.
Zinchenko was named to the first team at first singles with senior Zoe Angell and junior Anna Chow earning first-team honors at first doubles. First-year Ancele Dolensek was named to the second team at third singles while she paired with junior Divya Venkatarama at second doubles to also earn second-team honors.
Zinchenko has a 29-6 overall record with her 29 wins tying the school record for wins in a season with Danna Taylor (2018-19) and Laura Chen (2010-11). She has a dual match record of 12-3 at first singles and 7-0 at second singles. Zinchenko is currently ranked 16th in the nation. She had two unfinished matches and one loss in the UAA Championship.
Angell and Chow began their pairing on February 22 with a victory and went on to collect a record of 13-7. They had two losses and an unfinished match at the UAA Championship.
Dolensek was the ITA Southeast Regional Singles Champion in the fall and played in the ITA Cup. She is the 11th regional winner and has a record of 29-9 to tie Zinchenko with the season record for victories. Her 8-5 third singles record includes two losses at the UAA Championship with one unfinished score. She is currently ranked 36th in the nation.
In doubles play, Dolensek and Venkatarama are 18-5 and currently have an eight-match winning streak.
The Tartans earned the program's 19th bid to the NCAA Championship and will host Penn State Behrend at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 8 in the first round.