GILBERT, Ariz. (June 10, 2026) – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced its annual regional awards this week, as the University of North Alabama women's tennis program was an ITA Community Service Award Honorable Mention.
This comes just over a week after both the men's and women's tennis programs were ranked fourth nationally among Division I programs in their sport for community engagement hours in a report from Helper Helper.
"We have an amazing community in the Shoals that supports us, and all the girls really appreciate that," said Director of Tennis Olaya Garrido Rivas. "It makes them feel like they are not as far away from home as they are, and that's why they want to give back as much as they can to the community. We are so lucky to be able to give back a little of the love we get from our supporters."
To view the full slate of awards, click here.
The women's program finished sixth in the ITA Southern Regional Rankings and was the highest-ranked mid-major program in the region. The five ahead of UNA were all from the SEC — Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama and Mississippi State.
The Lions were ranked ahead of Louisiana Tech, South Alabama, Troy and McNeese State. UNA completed the season with a 17-7 overall record, including a perfect 7-0 record at home. The Lions eliminated Austin Peay from the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship in the quarterfinal round before falling to eventual-champion North Florida, who finished 25-1.
The women's program went on to play in the UTR Sports NIT Championship in Rome, Ga. The Lions made an impressive run to the championship match, defeating Army with a 4-0 sweep in the quarterfinal round before stunning Kansas State in the semifinal with a 4-3 win. The Lions fell 4-2 against Arkansas State in the championship final.
UNA's win over Kansas State was the first win over a Power Four opponent in program history.
The women's program was led by first team all-conference selection Eeva Ristola, who also earned a spot on the ASUN All-Tournament team. Junior Emma Ansorge was voted a second team all-conference selection, while Sammie Schouten was listed on the all-freshman team.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
