TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (June 21, 2023) - NJCAA Champion Hillsborough Community College continued to rack up the postseason honors when the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced its Women's Tennis National Awards.

Head coach Sarah Lytle added to her haul of accolades when she was named the 2023 Wilson ITA Coach of the Year. The Hawks were undefeated in Region 8 play and won the FCSAA Championship prior to claiming the NJCAA Championship in Tyler, Texas, last month, completing a wire-to-wire run atop the Division I team rankings. 

By virtue of its championships, Lytle was named FCSAA Coach of the Year and NJCAA Coach of the Tournament. She was also named ITA's Region IV Wilson ITA Coach of the Year.

Two of Lytle's second-year standouts were also honored by the ITA.

Arina Gamretkaia was named the ITA Sophomore Player of the Year while Esmee Andresen was named the ITA Most Improved Sophomore. 

Gamretkaia posted an overall singles record of 11-2 at the No. 1 position, including 8-1 against NJCAA competition. Her lone defeat came in the semifinals of the NJCAA Tournament. Still, she finished as the No. 3 women's player in the ITA singles rankings. 

Her overall doubles record was 12-1 at the No. 1 position, including 9-0 against NJCAA competition. She and Andresen were NJCAA Champions at the No. 1 doubles position, earning NJCAA All-America recognition, and finished with a No. 1 ITA ranking. 

Gamretkaia was the FCSAA Champion at the No. 1 position, which garnered her FCSAA Player of the Year honors, and teamed with Andresen to win the FCSAA's No. 1 doubles championship. 

Andresen, playing at the No. 2 position, posted a singles record of 10-4. Like Gamretkaia, she advanced to the semifinals of the NJCAA Tournament. 

At the FCSAA Championships, she was the singles champion at the No. 2 position. 

Previously, Gamretkaia and Andresen received the same honors for Region IV while St. Petersburg College's Isabela Mercante was the ITA Rookie of the Year for Region IV and State College of Florida was a ITA Community Service Award Honorable Mention.

Eastern Florida State College's Bobby Cashman was also named the Region IV Wilson ITA Coach of the Year.