RUSTON, La.  – After its historic 2015 campaign, the awards continue to pile up for the Nicholls State University women's tennis program as sophomore Stephanie Barnett earned her fourth player of the year honor, being tabbed Louisiana Sports Writers Association Women's Tennis Player of the Year, and head coach Meenakshi Sundaram garnered his second coach of the year accolade, as the LSWA announced Sunday its annual women's tennis awards.
 
Voted on by the state's university sports information directors, Barnett edged LSU's Joana Vale Costa by one vote to take the LSWA's top honor. Barnett also landed on first-team All-Louisiana, becoming the first Colonel to do so since Parija Maloo was tabbed first team in 2012. Sundaram, who just finished his fifth season at the helm of the Nicholls tennis program, ran away with the coach of the year award by receiving over 60 percent of the votes.
 
After leading the Colonels to their first Southland Conference regular season championship since 1995, Barnett's phenomenal sophomore campaign did not go unnoticed as she has claimed almost every award possible. Her accolades this season include Southland Women's Tennis Player of the Year, Southland Women's Tennis Student-Athlete of the Year, All-Southland First Team Singles and Doubles, Southland No. 1 Singles Champion, First Team Southland All-Academic and Nicholls Female Student-Athlete of the Year.
 
Barnett had a stellar spring dual season at No. 1 for the Colonels, compiling an 18-3 overall singles record while going a perfect 11-0 in conference play.  The native of Melbourne, Australia not only racked up wins, but she did so in dominating fashion by claiming 15 straight-set victories. She also played on the No. 1 court in doubles, going 12-6 on the year and teamed up with Klara Skopac to earn first-team all-conference doubles honors.
 
Sundaram, who was named Southland Conference Women's Tennis Coach of the Year in April, received the LSWA honor after leading Nicholls to a 20-5 overall record. The Colonels claimed a share of the Southland regular season title, its first in 20 years, and earned the No. 1 seed in SLC Tournament after going 10-1 in league play. The postseason berth was the Colonels' second consecutive after Sundaram's squad ended a 15-year drought last season. The 20 wins by the Colonels were the most for a single season in team history, and the win total nearly tripled the team's total from 2013.
 
Under Sundaram's tutelage, the Colonels have also excelled in the classroom as two players earned all-academic honors this season, including Barnett being named student-athlete of the year, and all six players who were eligible for Southland All-Academic met the requirements with a 3.0 GPA or better. His women's team also won the Nicholls President's Award for Academic Excellence for the third consecutive season.
 
For the complete list of LSWA award winners, please see the list below.
 
LSWA FIRST TEAM ALL-LOUISIANA
Stephanie Barnett, Nicholls
Joana Vale Costa, LSU
Natalya Krutova, Northwestern State
Renee Villarreal, Southeastern Louisiana
Nour Abbes, Xavier
Skylar Kuykendall, LSU
 
LSWA SECOND TEAM ALL-LOUISIANA
Julia Kral, McNeese State
Klaudia Gawlik, McNeese State
Petra Horakova, ULM
Tatiana Larina, Northwestern State
Alexandra Starkova, Louisiana Tech
Abby Owens, LSU
 
LSWA PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Stephanie Barnett, Nicholls
 
LSWA NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Skylar Kuykendall, LSU
 
LSWA FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Sarah Jurakova, McNeese State
 
LSWA COACH OF THE YEAR
Meenakshi Sundaram, Nicholls