IRVING, Texas – Tulane head coach DAVID SCHUMACHER received his fourth Coach of the Year accolade after leading the Green Wave to their third consecutive Conference USA title following a tight 4-3 finish over TCU in the final of the C-USA Championships. Horned Frogs’ STORY-TWEEDIE-YATES, who led her squad to the runner-up finish was named the 2005 Conference USA Women’s Tennis Player of the Year.

DePaul’s BEATRIX CSORDAS was named Freshman of the Year after leading her squad to a fifth-place finish at the C-USA Tournament, the highest since 2000. The award also marks the second year in a row that a Blue Demon has taken the newcomer recognition as Gergana Ganeva earned the title in 2004. Csordas helped DePaul end the season with an overall record of 20-8, the first time in Blue Demon history to reach the 20-win plateau.

In addition to Player of the Year honors, Tweedie-Yates also earned the Outstanding Singles Player of the Championship award, while Tulane’s sister duo of MARIA and DARYA IVANOV claimed the league’s Outstanding Doubles Team of the Championship accolade.

No. 16 Tweedie-Yates notched the first point for the Frogs when she defeated No. 124 Maria Ivanov, 6-4, 6-4, at the one line en route to capturing the runner-up finish in the tourney. The senior is now 32-4 this season with a 16-match winning streak entering NCAA Championship action. The Green Wave’s Ivanov tandem defeated TCU’s No. 36 team of Tweedie-Yates and ANA CETNIK, who also earned 2005 C-USA All-Conference first-team honors, snapping a 13-match winning streak in the conference final.

Tweedie-Yates moved up one spot to 15th in the country in the latest ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) poll and has an overall singles record of 16-4 against ranked players, which includes two victories over Top-10 players in the country, Aibika Kalsarieva of Kentucky and Nicole Leimbach of USC.

In his sixth season at Tulane, Schumacher guided the 16th-ranked Green Wave to a 23-5 mark this season, while also claiming their fourth C-USA Championship and an automatic bid to the 2005 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship. Schumacher, who earned his third consecutive Coach of the Year honor and fourth in his career as the Wave’s head coach, is 108-43 (.715) during his tenure in New Orleans.

Joining Tweedie-Yates and Cetnik on the All-Conference first-team USA were Horned Frog teammate HELENA BESOVIC, Tulane’s JENNY KUEHN, who was the two-time defending C-USA Player of the Year (2003,’04) and MARIA IVANOV, and USF’s NEYSSA ETIENNE.

Joining Freshman of the Year Csordas on the All-Conference second-team were Tulane’s JULIE SMEKODUB and DARYA IVANOV, DePaul’s MARINA PARASHKEVOV, USF’s COURTNEY VERNON and Houston’s BILJANA DIMOVSKA. USF’s LIZ CRUZ and GABRIELA DUCH, Tulane’s NANCY KOCKOTT, TCU’s KEWA NICHOLS, Louisville’s ROBYN WHITE and Houston’s KAMI MILLER were selected as members of the third-team.

Tulane led all Conference USA teams with five all-league selections. TCU and USF had four selections apiece, while DePaul and Houston each had two.

Conference USA women’s tennis players will now wait for the NCAA selection show that will take place on Wednesday, May 4, approximately 4:30 p.m. (CT) on ESPNEWS. Individuals chosen for the singles and doubles championships will be announced on May 5 by 5 p.m. on the NCAA's Web site. First- and second-round team competition takes place on May 13-15 at 16 campus sites that have yet to be determined. The 16 teams advancing past the first and second rounds travel to Athens, Ga., to finish the remainder of the tournament over May 19-22. The NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships begin May 23 and conclude May 28.