Ito Named Freshman of the Year, All-Conference Singles, All-Conference Freshmen Team

IRVING, Texas – WKU freshman standout Moka Ito was named the 2018 Conference USA Freshman of the Year while also being added to the All-Conference Singles First Team and All-Conference Freshmen Team, announced by Conference USA on Friday. Ito and sophomore teammate Monica Malinen were also named to the All-Conference Doubles Second Team.

The Fukushima, Japan native is believed to be WKU's first ever Freshman of the Year awarded by a conference. She is just the fifth Lady Topper in program history be named to an All-Conference Singles First Team. Ito and Malinen's second team accolades are the highest conference honors ever earned by a Lady Topper doubles pair.

Newcomer Ito made her mark in the record books in both singles and doubles. She tied for the sixth-most singles wins in a season with a record of 12-1. The freshman will also be able to extend her winning streak into next season as it currently stands at eight matches. She finished with 10 doubles victories, good for the eighth-most doubles wins in a season.

The freshman and sophomore tandem of Ito and Malinen earned a 9-3 mark this spring, winning seven of their last 10 and holding a winning streak as long as five matches in a row. Five of the nine victories notched by Ito and Malinen came by four or more points, each time playing in the No. 1 spot for WKU.

Their best performance for the entire season was arguably during the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Championship when they were tied five all with No. 44 doubles pair, Wendy Zhang and Lindsey Hodge when the doubles point was decided.

Ito Named Freshman of the Year, All-Conference Singles, All-Conference Freshmen Team

Players Mentioned

Moka Ito

Monica Malinen

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