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MACON, Ga. - Florida State's top pair of Julie Brown and Jace Pardon were the unanimous selection for 2016 Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) Pair of the Year as the conference announced its All-Conference awards on Thursday. Seminoles' teammate Nikki Esposito shared the Freshman of the Year honors with LSU's Lilly Kessler, while Georgia State's Head Coach Beth Van Fleet earned the Coach of the Year accolades.
Brown and Pardon have been paired at the No. 1 position all season long for the Seminoles and have been dominant in the sand posting a 21-3 dual match record this season. The pair was the only pair to garner two CCSA Pair of the Week honors and currently rides a nine match winning streak into the CCSA Championship this weekend. The duo clinched eight matches with victories this season and also went a perfect 7-0 against fellow CCSA opponents in 2016. With Brown and Pardon leading the way, the Seminoles own a 24-1 record this season.
Joining them on the All-Conference first team are teammates Victoria Paranagua and Kristina Pelliterri. The pair is the only Seminole pair to play in all 25 dual matches this season, posting a 23-2 record. The pair opened the season with 14 consecutive match wins and posted signature wins over Southern California, UCLA and Long Beach State. Georgia State's top pair of Jansen Button and Sara Olivova were selected to CCSA All-Conference team following a 22-7 mark in dual match play, with 13 of those wins coming at the No. 1 position. The duos best win came against No. 1 Pepperdine.
Tulane's Jackie Wegner added All-Conference honors to her Scholar-Athlete of the Year award as she was selected alongside playing partner Tea Juric to the All-Conference team. The pair posted an impressive 22-7 mark this season. Rounding out the All-Conference selections was the Georgia State No. 2 pair of Nina Interwies and Kate Rawls. The duo played almost all of the season at either No. 1 or No. 2 and finished with a 20-8 record. They posted an eight match winning streak at one point helping the Panthers to a single-season record 22 wins.
Florida State's Nikki Esposito and LSU's Lilly Kessler were voted Co-Freshman of the Year following outstanding campaigns for their teams. Esposito finished the season with a 13-4 record, the best mark of any Seminole newcomer. Kessler picked up an impressive 14 wins after a returning from season-ending injury last season. Kessler posted a winning record against ranked teams.
Kessler's teammate, Ashley Allmer, joined her on the All-Freshman team after posting eight victories at the No. 1 position for the Tigers. She had a signature win against No. 8 Georgia State at the Tiger Beach Challenge. FIU's Dominique Dodd earned All-Freshman honors after competing in 17 of 18 matches for the Panthers this year. Dodd posted seven victories on the season, while moving positions from No. 3 up to No. 1. Georgia State's Brooke Weiner rounds out the All-Freshman honors. She posted 20 victories for the Panthers, the second most by a freshman in Georgia State program history.
Georgia State's Head Coach Beth Van Fleet collected the first CCSA Coach of the Year honor after guiding the Panthers to a school-record 22 wins this season. It's the first 20-win season in program history, and included two wins over top-10 teams over the course of the regular season. The Panthers will be the No. 2 seed at this weekend's inaugural CCSA Championship.
