MELBOURNE, Fla. - Barry University tennis athlete Sonja Larsen has been named the 2017-18 Sunshine State Conference Female Athlete of the Year. Larsen was crowned an individual and team national champion in 2017-18.
Voting for the award is conducted among Athletic Directors, Senior Woman Administrators, Athletic Communication Directors, and Faculty Athletic Representatives from each of the 11 SSC member institutions.
The Verden, Germany product capped off each of her final two semesters at Barry with a national championship. In the fall, she defeated Hanna Volikova (2-6, 6-3, 6-2) to win the 2017 Oracle Cup. Then, in the spring, she helped lead the Buccaneers to a SSC-record 58th consecutive win and a second straight NCAA Division II title.
Larsen finished her career at Barry as the program's all-time leader in singles wins with 83 and second in doubles wins at 92. The senior went 22-1 in dual match singles this past year, 30-2 overall including 9-1 at the #1 position. She ended the year ranked No. 4 by the ITA. Along with partner Verena Schmid, Larsen finished the season No. 1 nationally in doubles. The duo went 25-2 in dual match doubles, 26-3 overall including 16-2 at the #1 position.
For her efforts on the court this season, Larsen received a lot of love. She was named the Barry Female Athlete of the Year, ITA Singles All-American, ITA Doubles All-American, All-SSC First Team Singles, All-SSC First Team Doubles, and was a four-time recipient of SSC Athlete of the Week. Over the course of the season, Larsen became the first Barry tennis athlete to hold simultaneous No. 1 ITA rankings in singles and doubles.
Larsen, a double major in finance and management, earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors this year as well as Dean's List accolades in both the fall and spring semesters. She is the fifth Barry student-athlete to be honored as SSC Female Athlete of the Year
1 and first since 2001-02. She is also the second tennis student-athlete to win Female Athlete of the Year
2 since the award was established in 1987-88.
1Previous Barry winners: Geralyn Elam (Softball - 2001-02), Cindy Yuan (Volleyball - 1997-98), Mickisha Hurley (Volleyball - 1995-96), Katrina Lofton (Basketball - 1990-91)
2Stacy Moss, Rollins College (1993-94, 1994-95)
Complete Listing: SSC Athletes of the Year