TEMPE, Ariz. - Baylor women's tennis senior Kiah Generette and junior Blair Shankle were recognized by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association with Texas region awards Monday.
Generette won the region's Most Improved Player Award given to a senior, while Shankle garnered the ITA/Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship.
In her final season in Waco, Generette helped the Bears secure their 12th-straight NCAA selection, while compiling a 12-16 record in singles and an 11-13 mark in dual-match play. Playing at the top three positions in the lineup, she won five of her final seven singles decisions to close out the year.
Generette is the second Bear to win the Most Improved Player Award, joining Jordaan Sanford, who was honored in 2014.
In her junior year, Shankle rose to the top of BU’s singles lineup and amassed a 15-6 overall record and a 13-4 mark in dual-match play. She was 6-1 in conference play and 7-2 at the No. 1 spot. Shankle moved into the singles ITA rankings at No. 76 in early April and has remained ranked for the rest of the season currently residing at No. 91.
Shankle is the sixth BU athlete to be recognized with the accolade and the first since Jordaan Sanford in 2013. Other Lady Bears to be honored with the award are Claudia Aguilar (2000), Karin Andersson (2001), Zuzana Krchnakova (2006) and Zuzana Cerna (2007).
As a tandem Generette and Shankle earned a spot in the NCAA Doubles Championships. The duo is 16-6 overall and 12-5 in dual-match action. The pairing went 5-1 in Big 12 action and boast a 6-4 record against ranked foes. In the latest ITA rankings, the BU pairing was ranked No. 20.
Generette and Shankle are now eligible to win an ITA National award, which will be announced May 24.
The 40th-ranked Baylor women's team will begin its NCAA Championships run with a first round match against 26th-ranked Wake Forest Friday at noon CT in Athens, Ga.
