DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Two student-athletes from the Embry-Riddle women's tennis team were the recipients of regional superlative honors awarded by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on Wednesday. Laura Cuesta Bret was named the NCAAA II South Region Rookie of the Year while Jessica Christa Wira Hadipoernomo was the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship. Wednesday's awards were the first ITA superlative awards of the Eagles' NCAA II era.
 
A native of Madrid, Spain, Cuesta Bret joined the Eagles in the fall and worked her way into the No. 3 singles spot in the Eagle lineup. Her 17-8 overall record included a 14-7 ledger in dual matches. Her 8-3 record in Sunshine State Conference play earned Cuesta Bret Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the Year honors. She was also named to the All-SSC second team in doubles as her partnership with Itxaso Blanco yielded an 11-4 record at the top spot in the doubles lineup for the Blue and Gold.
 
The ITA Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership and Sportsmanship Award recognizes outstanding student-athletes in all five divisions (NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and JUCO) at the regional and national level. This prestigious award, which dates back to 1982, is presented to the men's and women's national student-athletes who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.
 
Wira Hadipoernomo (Semarang, Indonesia) is in her third season with Embry-Riddle women's tennis and has been a mainstay in the lineup competing in every dual match for the Eagles over the last three seasons. For the third straight year, she led the Eagles in singles wins with a 22-2 overall record and was 11-1 in conference play.
 
In addition to her performance on the court, Wira Hadipoernomo has also excelled in the classroom while being active in various campus organizations. She earned an undergraduate degree in computational mathematics with a minor in systems engineering with a perfect 4.0 GPA and is enrolled in the accelerated program in data science. She is involved in a number of research projects and is the public information officer for ERAU's International Student Organization, the women's tennis representative on the Student-Athlete Leadership Team  and part of the leadership team for Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
 
"I wholeheartedly believe that no one embodies the "Student, Person, Player" motto of Embry-Riddle Athletics more than Jessica as well as what Arthur Ashe stands for in his career," ERAU Head Coach Chad Berryhill stated. "Simply put, she is the whole package and then some.  Although I have only coached Jessica for one semester, I had seen her play and compete over three years and she has always been a class act.  However now seeing her on "my team," I can see the whole picture of what Jessica embodies as student-athlete, human being, and as a teammate. She leads by example and puts her faith in God over all as a devote Christian.  Her teammates adore her because of her consistency, passion, joyful spirit, and her enthusiasm to always get better in every way that she can."
 
Cuesta Bret and WIra Hadipoernomo are now finalists for the national awards which will be announced on May 21.