NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion women’s tennis freshman Borislava Botusharova has been named Rookie of the Year for the Atlantic region as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on Tuesday afternoon. The ITA will be honoring the National Award Winners at a luncheon next Tuesday.
“Borislava has been a catalyst for our program since she signed her NLI,” said ODU head coach Dom Manilla. “She is a committed hardworking individual in all aspects of being a student-athlete. She is a great teammate and a fantastic person to be around. I am excited that she is being recognized for her performance this year.”
The Conference USA Freshman of the Year and First Team All C-USA honoree was the No. 6 ranked Newcomer/Freshman in the NCAA entering her first semester at ODU, and followed that up by compiling an 18-2 singles record for No. 56 nationally ranked Old Dominion this season, while playing in the number one slot.
Botusharova won 15 of her 18 matches in straight sets, while raking in three C-USA Player of the Week awards and being nationally ranked throughout the season. At one point this year, Botusharova won 14 matches in a row, knocking off multiple nationally ranked opponents.
The right-handed Bulgaria-native also was named to the All-Conference USA Third Team for doubles, along with teammate Nikol Hristova. Botusharova and Hristova tag-teamed to play No. 1 doubles for a lot of the season and compiled an 8-6 record while doing so. ODU’s duo took down the No. 40 ranked tandem in the NCAA, which was Georgia State’s Linn Timmerman and Tarani Kamoe, who Botusharova and Hristova eventually shutout, 6-0.
For a complete look at the (men’s and women’s) 2015 ITA Award Winners for Division I tennis, please click here.