Baylor women’s tennis senior Rhiann Newborn, senior Blair Shankle, sophomore Karina Traxler and freshman Jessica Hinojosa earned All-Big 12 recognition on Thursday afternoon.
Shankle earned singles and doubles conference recognition for the third consecutive season, collecting All-Big 12 first team distinction for the second-straight year. Traxler, her doubles partner for the conference slate, is a first-time All-Big 12 honoree. Newborn picked up her first career Big 12 honor, as she was named to the All-Big 12 second team. Hinojosa was one of six players selected to the All-Freshman Team. All awards were determined by a vote of head coaches in the conference.
Shankle put together an impressive 27-4 singles record on the season, including a 17-2 mark in dual match play and a 7-1 record in the Big 12. She recently achieved the program’s highest singles ranking and is the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Championship singles bracket. Shankle went 10-4 against ranked opponents this year and has won eight consecutive matches.
Newborn compiled a career-best 19-7 record this season, playing in Baylor’s top three singles positions. She went 14-5 in dual match action and 4-1 in Big 12 play. On the year, Newborn registered three victories against ranked opponents.
Traxler and Shankle are 7-1 on the season as a unit and possess a No. 35 national rating. The doubles duo is a perfect 4-0 against ranked opponents this season and are riding a two-match win streak.
Hinojosa posted a 17-8 record overall in her debut season with an 11-6 dual match mark and an unblemished 6-0 effort in Big 12 play. She competed at No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 singles positions for the Lady Bears this season.
No. 16-ranked Baylor opens NCAA Championship play with first and second round action in Waco, Texas, on May 13-14. The Lady Bears meet Texas A&M-Corpus Christ in the first round on Saturday at 1 p.m. (CT) at Hurd Tennis Center. The winner advances to the second round, scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m.
