NORFOLK, Va. – Senior Mafalda Lhorca and sophomore Liza Gordeeva were named first-team All-MEAC after the conference office announced its postseason women's tennis honors on Wednesday night.
 
It marked the first time the NSU women's program had a first-team honoree since 2003. That season was also the last time the Spartans had two women's players earn all-conference honors. Since at least 2002, NSU has not had two first-team all-conference players in the same season.
 
Gordeeva grabbed all-conference honors for the second year in a row after earning a spot on the second team last year.
 
Lhorca finished 4-1 in singles in conference play this year as well as 9-6 overall. Her three-set victory at No. 6 singles clinched NSU's 4-2 win over 10-time defending MEAC champion South Carolina State on March 1. The win earned the V.N. Gaia, Portugal native MEAC Player of the Week honors. She also posted a 6-4 doubles record, including 2-1 in the MEAC, on the year.
 
Gordeeva was named the MEAC Player of the Week on Feb. 25. She posted a 3-2 record in singles in conference matches as well as a 9-6 overall mark this season. The Minsk, Belarus native also had a 4-7 doubles record, including 1-2 in the conference. She became NSU's first two-time all-conference honoree since Fiorella Valdivia in 2006 and '07.
 
NSU finished 3-3 in conference play and 8-11 overall. It marked the first time in seven years the Spartans ended the year .500 or better in the MEAC.
 
Bethune-Cookman swept all three major women's tennis awards. Mina Matsuba was named the Player of the Year, Maria Garoz-Marena garnered the Rookie of the Year award, and Tim Pleasant was tabbed the Coach of the Year.
 
The Wildcats had four all-conference honorees, including three on the first team. Only NSU and North Carolina Central, with two each, also had more than one player named to the All-MEAC team.

Voting was done by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.

2015 MEAC Women's Tennis All-MEAC Teams

First Team

Name	School	Class	Hometown
Gaby Chinchilla	Bethune-Cookman	Sr.	San Salvador, El Salvador
Mina Matsuba	Bethune-Cookman	So.	Mie, Japan
Maria Garoz-Mareno	Bethune-Cookman	Fr.	Cadiz, Spain
Ekaterina Nekrasova	North Carolina Central	Sr.	Severodvinsk, Russia
Mafalda Lhorca	Norfolk State	Sr.	V.N. Gaia, Portugal
Liza Gordeeva	Norfolk State	So.	Minsk, Belarus

Second Team

Name	School	Class	Hometown
Chinatsu Kajiwara	Bethune-Cookman	Sr.	Fukuoka, Japan
Elvira Galieva	Delaware State	Fr.	Ufa, Russia
Danielle Thompson	Morgan State	Fr.	Nassau, Bahamas
Aissa Muamba	North Carolina Central	Jr.	Laval, Canada
Kamelia Dimitrova	Savannah State	So.	Sofia, Bulgaria
Intissar Rassif	South Carolina State	So.	Casablanca, Morocco

Player of the Year: Mina Matsuba, Bethune-Cookman
Rookie of the Year: Maria Garoz-Mareno, Bethune-Cookman
Coach of the Year: Tim Pleasant, Bethune-Cookman