Old Dominion University announced on Apr. 29 that its women’s tennis team received several Sun Belt Conference honors, including Victoria Matasova being named the Elite Award winner and Dominic Manilla earning Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive season. The awards were determined by a vote among league head coaches.
These recognitions highlight achievements within Old Dominion’s tennis program during the current season. Matasova, a redshirt junior from Malye Kabany, Russia, compiled a 13-21 overall record and recorded notable victories against Maryland, Wake Forest, and No. 14 Irina Balus of Duke. She maintained a position in the top 115 of ITA rankings throughout most of the season while competing in singles on court two and doubles on court one.
Manilla was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year for leading Old Dominion to its sixth straight conference championship in his fifteenth year as head coach. He previously won Coach of the Year honors from 2019 to 2021 when Old Dominion competed in Conference USA. Under his leadership this season, Old Dominion achieved a record of 13-5.
Additional accolades went to Kira Matushkina and Ulyana Romanova for their performances in singles play; Matushkina was selected for Singles First Team All-Conference after earning national ranking No. 103 with wins over Michigan and Kansas State opponents, while Romanova made Singles Second Team All-Conference following her nine-match winning streak and victories against teams such as Ohio State and Penn State.
Doubles pairs also received recognition: Matushkina/Matasova were named to Doubles First Team All-Conference after defeating Power Four opponents from Wake Forest and Kansas with national rankings reaching No. 75 and No. 66; Romanova/Rasskouskaia also earned Doubles First Team status with a record of 14-5 at court three—including four consecutive wins against major conference schools—and achieved national rankings as high as No. 20.
Old Dominion is scheduled to face Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, May 1 at Duke.
