Two freshman women labeled tennis standouts at FIU

After a successful first year with the FIU women's tennis program, the freshman duo of Basak Albas and Kamila Umarova recently earned All-Conference USA honors as voted on by league coaches. 
The two Panthers were named to the All-CUSA Doubles First Team while Akbas earned spots on the All-CUSA Singles Second Team and the C-USA All-Freshman Team.
For both student-athletes the recognition reflects the impressive seasons that each one of the rookie members had during the 2018-19 campaign. 
“Basak is an extremely hard working athlete, her dedication and ability to quickly adapt to collegiate tennis played an integral role in her success this season. Her accomplishments are a confirmation that hard work pays off,” said head coach Katarina Petrovic.
In her first season with the Panthers, Akbas posted a 17-3 mark in singles competition. Playing in the No. 3 position, she held a 9-1 record and was undefeated in the fall while winning the No. 2 singles flight at the Bedford Cup in October. She was named C-USA Athlete of the Week on March 6 after achieving a near perfect weekend of competition.
The Akbas-Umarova duo was a consistent force for the Panthers in 2018-19 sporting 8-2 doubles record overall and 6-2 mark in dual matches. The tandem ranked as high as No. 64 on the ITA/Oracle ranking this season, a rarity for a freshman pair to achieve. The dynamic duo remained undefeated against conference opponents while playing in the No.1 spot. They ended the season on a two-match win streak, where they downed conference opponents UTEP and North Texas at the C-USA Championships.
For Umarova, the freshman earned a 14-5 singles record overall in addition to her stellar doubles play with Akbas going 9-4 in dual play and 4-1 in C-USA contests. 
“Basak and Kami are team players and they showed that while they competed. They collaborated and brought the best out of each other during every match,” said Petrovic.