TEMPE. Ariz. – The Kenyon College duo of senior Erika Oku and junior Daria Beshentseva are making a habit of collecting All-America honors from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
On Friday, June 18, the ITA announced Oku as a singles and doubles All-American, while also declaring Beshentseva a doubles All-American.
The prestigious honors seem to be a given for Oku, who is now both a three-time ITA singles All-American and a three-time ITA doubles All-American. This year’s awards mark the second time in the past two seasons that Oku and Beshentseva earned the doubles honor together.
ITA All-America status is bestowed upon those student-athletes who are a top-eight seed in the NCAA singles tournament, or who won at least one round at the NCAA singles tournament, or who finished in the Top 20 in the final Oracle ITA Rankings. All-American status is awarded to doubles teams that are a top-four seed in the NCAA doubles tournament, or that won at least one round at the NCAA doubles tournament, or that finish in the Top 10 in the final Oracle ITA Rankings.
Oku finished the abbreviated 2021 season with a 7-2 singles record. She was named both an All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) first-team honoree and the conference’s Player of the Year. She led the Ladies to an 11-1 team record, an NCAC Championship and a run through the NCAA Division III Tournament that ended in the semifinal round. Additionally, Oku qualified for both the NCAA Division III Singles and Doubles Championships but bowed out of each in the first round. At season’s end, she was tabbed the No. 10 player in both the ITA’s final singles and doubles national rankings.
Beshentseva paired with Oku to earn the No. 10 national doubles rank. Together, they posted a 6-2 record this past season and were named the NCAC’s Doubles Team of the Year. Over the last two seasons, they have a combined 18-8 mark.
On her own, Beshentseva played at No. 2 in the Ladies’ lineup and registered a 6-2 mark. She also made the 2021 All-NCAC team as a singles player.
