HAMMOND, La. – After capping a remarkable career with a tremendous senior season, Southeastern Louisiana's Renee Villarreal was named the Louisiana Player of the Year by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association in an announcement from the LSWA on Sunday.
 
Villarreal, a native of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, is the first Lion to be named the state's top player since Iva Velkovska, who took home Player and Freshman of the Year honors following the 2006 season. Villarreal was also named first team All-Louisiana for the fourth straight season.
 
The state honor was the latest in a long line of postseason accolades for the Southeastern standout. Villarreal was named Southland Conference Player of the Year in April and earned league Student-Athlete of the Year honors last month. A first team CoSIDA Academic All-District 6 selection for the third straight year, Villarreal, who carried a 4.0 grade point average throughout her time at Southeastern, earned the President's Medal for Academic Excellence after receiving her degree in finance last month.
 
Villarreal finished her time in Hammond with her best all-around season as a Lion. In singles play, she was a first team All-Southland choice after posting an 18-3 record (10-1 Southland) on the No. 1 court. In doubles play, she and sophomore Dalina Dahlmans were the league's first team all-conference selection at No. 1 doubles, posting a 17-2 overall record and a 9-1 mark in Southland matches.
 
The All-Louisiana teams are selected by the state's sports information directors. SID's are not allowed to vote for players from their own schools.
 
2016 LSWA All-Louisiana Women's Tennis Teams
 
First Team
Name – School – Cl. – Hometown
Renee Villarreal – Southeastern Louisiana – Sr. – Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
Hannah Brett – McNeese State – So. – Workingham, Berkshire, UK
Jessica Golovin – LSU – Fr. – New York, N.Y.
Abby Owens – LSU – Jr. – Duluth, Ga.
Alexandra Starkova – Louisiana Tech – Sr. – Madrid, Spain
Joana Vale Costa – LSU – Jr. – Lisbon, Portugal
 
Player of the Year: Renee Villarreal, Southeastern Louisiana
Freshman of the Year: Jessica Golovin, LSU
Newcomer of the Year: Ryann Foster, LSU
Coach of the Year: Chad Camper, Louisiana Tech; Julia & Michael Sell, LSU (tie)
 
Second Team
Ryan Foster – LSU – So. – Sunrise, Fla.
Charlene Goreau – Xavier – Fr. – Toulouse, France
Polina Ivanova – Northwestern State – So. – Moscow, Russia
Sarah Jurakova – McNeese State – So. – Trnava, Slovakia
Natalya Krutova – Northwestern State – Sr. – Sevatopol, Ukraine
Skyler Kuykendall – LSU – Sr. – Jasper, Ala.
Tiffany Mylonas – ULM – Fr. – Brussels, Belgium
 
Honorable Mention: Jazmin Britos, Louisiana Tech; Giovanna Fioretti, McNeese State.