(Portions of this story taken from the Southwestern University Athletics website)
TEMPE, Ariz. – Southwestern University's Mary Cardone was recognized as an All-American by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) as the organization officially announced its 2018-19 honorees.
The junior earned her spot on the team by defeating Sewanee's Catherine Owen to advance to round of 16 at the 2019 NCAA DIII Singles Championships last month.
Cardone, an All-SCAC First Team selection, showed her resiliency, rallying from a 4-1 deficit against the No. 4-ranked player in the Atlantic South region by taking four consecutive games to take a 5-4 lead.
The pair exchanged games with Owen forcing a tiebreak in the 12th game, evening the contest at six. Both players were tied at a 3-3 when Cardone pulling away to take the set 7-6.
Cardone took the second set 6-2 to eliminate Owen and earn her place on the All-America team on her third attempt, having lost in the first round in 2017 and 2018.
"Mary joined an exclusive club today, becoming the fourth All-American in the women's program history and all within the last two years," Head Coach Billy Porter said. "With her playing soccer in the fall, this is her only path to becoming an All-American. What makes it so much more special is that she's come up short in the Round of 32 the last two years, so for her to get it on her third attempt makes it that much better."
In her second match of the day, Cardone was eliminated from the NCAA Championships by John Carroll University's Lauren O'Malley, a three-time DIII All-American and top-ranked player in the Central region, by a score of 6-1, 6-0. Cardone finished her season with a 17-2 record in singles competition.
To earn ITA All-America honors, a player must meet any of the following criteria:
Singles
1.) Top 8 seed in NCAA singles tournament
2.) Win one round at NCAA singles tournament
3.) Finish in the Top 20 in the final Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings
4.) Win USTA/ITA Fall Regional Tournament
5.) Wins first-round match at the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships
(including players who receive at-large invitations to the tournament)
Doubles
1.) Top 4 seed in NCAA doubles tournament
2.) Win one round at NCAA doubles tournament
3.) Finish in the Top 10 in the final Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings
4.) Win USTA/ITA Fall Regional Tournament
5.) Wins first-round match at the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships
(including teams who receive at-large invitations to the tournament)