STEPHENVILLE – For the second consecutive season, Tarleton State tennis received two of the Lone Star Conference's top honors as seniors Alicia Perez and Melanie Barnes were named the league's Player of the Year and Sportsmanship Player of the Year, respectively.
 
"These are tremendous honors and I'm proud of both of these young ladies," said Tarleton head coach Lance Drake.
 
Perez, a senior from Spain, brought home Tarleton's second straight LSC Player of the Year award – following in the footsteps of last year's winner, Karla Martinez.
 
Perez boasted a singles record of 15-3 and ended the season 8-1 in her last 10 matches, including taking a 6-4, 6-0 lead over Midwestern State in the LSC Championship match before the match ended. She spent the entire season ranked among the best singles players in the nation and a top-5 player in the South Central region.
 
She was also a combined 11-8 in doubles play working with three different partners this season.
 
"I think she's the best player in the conference and this is a very deserving award for her," said Drake. "Her record over four years here is incredible. I'm very proud of her and I'm glad the other coaches in our conference recognized it too."
 
Perez is the third TexAnn in school history to receive the LSC Player of the Year award, joining her former teammate and current graduate assistant coach, Martinez, as well as a 2014 Tarleton Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Alicia Cummings.
 
Meanwhile, her senior teammate Barnes, earned the conference's award to recognize sportsmanship – the LSC Sportsmanship Player of the Year award.
 
This is also the second straight year in which a TexAnn has earned this recognition, as Perez received the award a year ago.
 
Barnes, a senior from Duncan, Oklahoma, played through a chronic shoulder injury during her final campaign at Tarleton but still managed to go 7-5 in singles play, including a 1-1 record against regionally ranked foes.
 
She was also a combined 13-2 in doubles play this season, going 12-2 alongside Silvia Nieva and 1-0 with fellow senior, April Downing at her side.
 
"This is a very deserving honor for Melanie and I'm very proud of her," said Drake. "Over her four years here, she has earned the respect of everyone around our conference, including the coaches, for the way she carries herself on the court. She is definitely the heartbeat of our team and I'm happy for her."
 
Perez and Barnes, as well as the LSC Academic Player of the Year Ivana Zecevic, were all named all-conference singles while the doubles tandem of Zecevic and Luiza Adas earned all-conference doubles recognition.