ATLANTA, Ga. --- The NJIT women's tennis team picked up several ASUN Conference accolades at the Conference's annual pre-championship banquet Wednesday evening.

Freshman Joleta Budiman was voted the league's Freshman of the Year and earned spots on both the All-ASUN First Team and the ASUN All-Freshman team; sophomore Holly Matson joined Budiman as the ASUN Doubles Pair of the Year; and Mouna Bouzgarrou was named to the All-ASUN Second Team and also made the ASUN All-Freshman team. 

Budiman came out strong in her first collegiate season, posting an overall record of 21-5 on the year, including a 13-4 (5-2 ASUN) mark - mostly at No. 1 singles - during the spring season. Budiman was named ASUN Player of the Week twice in February (6th, 27th) and earned wins in two September tournaments - the Flight B title at the Navy Invitational and the Flight A consolation at the West Point Invitational.

Budiman and Matson combined to produce a 13-3 overall doubles record and a 2-1 ASUN mark in completed matches. The duo went 8-2 in their last ten contests during the regular season. 

Overall, Budiman was 19-6 overall in doubles action, including a 13-4 record (2-1 ASUN) in doubles competition at No. 1 doubles.

Bouzgarrou produced immediately and consistently for the Highlanders without having the fall season to prepare. Playing primarily at second singles and doubles, Bouzgarrou registered a 12-4 overall singles mark (4-2 ASUN) and an 11-7 doubles record (1-5 ASUN).

Budiman and Bouzgarrou were each unanimous All-Freshman selections. NJIT was also the only school to earn more than one of the four major postseason awards.

NJIT, the No. 6 seed at this week's ASUN Women's Tennis Championship, will play on Thursday, April 18 at 11:30 a.m. against No. 3 seeded Lipscomb.

Head Coach Zaki Abdelrahman on his team's awards haul:
"I am so happy and proud to see our ladies receiving all of these awards because they worked so hard all year. Joleta Budiman managed to consistently play top level tennis and represented us the best way possible at No. 1. She deserves to be the first NJIT player to be named freshmen of the year. Winning the best doubles team with her teammate Holly shows that she is such a complete player. Holly is the best doubles player i have on the team and she deserves lots of credit for that achievement. Mouna has been a leader to the team with her incredible energy and fighting spirit that she brings everyday. Finishing the year with such a fantastic winning record is not easy for any player that starts college in spring. I believe in her game and mentality so much, she has all the potential be a No. 1 player."