Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico Tabbed as ITA Senior Player of the Year

Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico Tabbed as ITA Senior Player of the Year

Emory University women's tennis senior Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico was announced as the ITA Senior Player of the Year Thursday afternoon, capping off an illustrious career with the Eagles.

The ITA Senior Player of the Year is presented to the senior student-athlete who had the best year among all student-athletes in his/her class. Gonzalez-Rico is only the third player in Emory women's tennis history to earn the award, joining Mary Ellen Gordon (2004) and Gabrielle Clark (2014).

FULL ITA RELEASE

For the 2021 season, Gonzalez-Rico was a key component to the team's success as the Eagles captured their eighth national championship in program history. During the NCAA tournament run, Gonzalez-Rico was tremendous as she did not drop a set in any of her matches, leading the team to an eventual 5-0 victory over Wesleyan in the title match.

She finished the season 11-2 in singles and 16-0 in doubles, culminating with a NCAA Doubles national championship alongside partner Katie Chang and a NCAA semifinal run in singles. In the national rankings, she finished No. 2 in singles and No. 1 in doubles.

The ITA Senior Player of the Year Award is just one of her many career accomplishments as she has also been named an ITA All-American seven times to go along with the 2021 Atlantic South Senior Player of the Year, 2018 ITA National Rookie of the Year, the 2019 Honda Division III Women's Athlete of the Year, a three-time All-UAA selection in doubles and a two-time All-UAA pick in doubles. Furthermore, Gonzalez-Rico was named the UAA Player of the Year in 2019 and was the conference's Rookie of the Year and tournament MVP as a freshman.

She finished her Emory career with an overall record of 81-17 in singles, tied for the ninth-most wins all-time, was 76-23 in doubles, ranking tied for 15th most victories in school history, and is one of two players in team history to earn a career triple crown, winning a team national championship (2021), doubles national championship (2021) and a singles national championship (2019).