Trio of Cougars earn ITA All-America tennis honors #GoBarton

A trio of members from the Barton Community College tennis program have received All-America honors announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).

For the 8th ranked women's team, Luciana Braga finished the season ranked No. 5 overall of the standings landing on the ten-member post-season award list.

Victor Alves and Gabriel Garay led the men's team to a final No. 4 national ranking, Alves finishing as the No. 8 ranked player in the NJCAA with Garay in the No. 10 position.

For Head Coach Lyle Stickney, the awards are his 11th All-America performances with Braga the first women's since Alexandra Abyasova's 2021 while the men's comes on the heels of Gustavo Campos' 2022 performances for the 2nd and 3rd men's singles accomplishment.

Final rankings had Braga joined by fellow freshman Andjela Mrvaljelic at No. 26 in singles with Braga's doubles rankings with sophomore Carmen Lyons ranked as the No. 19 tandem.

On the men's side, sophomore Fernando Andre also finished in the rankings at No. 41, teaming with Alves in doubles to earn a final 8th duo ranking while Garay and fellow freshman Shane Tapera ranked as the No. 22 squad.

Luciana Braga
Braga took just two losses all season, both coming against the eventual national champion Yerkezhan Arystanbekova of Cowley College, in finishing the year 13-2 overall. Seeded 5th at the national tournament, Braga rolled to the quarterfinal before dispatching the 4th seed in straight sets to make her second appearance in the national semifinals. Derailed last year by the top seed, the same fate occurred this year as the second loss against Arystanbekova ending the Porto Alegre, Brazil, native's Barton career in the final four.

Braga's character on the court showed throughout the tournament was rewarded with the prestigious NJCAA "Jovana Vasic Spirit of Competition Award". Nominated, evaluated, and selected by coaches and officials at the championship. Braga was rewarded of her fair play, sportsmanship, and competitive spirit with the annual award present in memory of St. Petersburg College standout Jovana Vasic. Braga's recipient of the award marked the third time the Cougars have received the award since 2017, as the sophomore joined 2024 Barton Sports Hall of Fame inductee Neus Torregrosa's pair won in 2017 and 2018.

Victor Alves
Alves was the Cougar's top singles player all season compiling a 14-3 record. Dropping an early season tight loss to an NAIA player, Alves won five straight before falling to Cowley's No. 3 ranked Bruno Nhavene.

Seeded 4th at the national tournament, freshman from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was upset in the first round by the nation's 24th ranked player but bounced back to his next four matches to capture one of the two Cougars' consolation bracket titles.

Gabriel Garay
The Cougars' No. 2 draw player had just two three-set matches all season as his straight set dominance rolled through fourteen matches into the eventual national championship match.

Defeating three opponents at nationals including the 8th and 5th seed, Garay's bid for the title fell short to 2nd seeded Reiya Komagata of Cowley in completing the Carazinho, Brazil, freshman's year at 14-1 overall.

More information regarding the ITA Awards and Rankings can be found at: https://www.wearecollegetennis.com/