The Northern Sun Conference handed out their women's tennis All-Conference awards Tuesday, and three Peacocks were honored by the league. Charalampia Grammatikaki was named the NSIC Freshman of the Year and earned First Team Singles and Second Team Doubles honors, while Varvara Ogorodnikova earned Second Team Singles honors, and Jessa Michieli earned Second Team Doubles honors.

"I am happy that Chara, Jessa, and Varia got recognized by the NSIC," said Head Coach Leo Millet. "I am very proud of them and what they were able to accomplish this season. They worked hard throughout the season, and it paid off. We had our ups and downs during the year, but these three showed great determination and fighting spirit."

Grammatikaki made a massive impact in her inaugural intercollegiate campaign, leading the Peacocks in the No. 1 singles spot all season and finishing with the NSIC's best No. 1 singles record in 2022. The freshman went 12-1 overall in the spring and was tied with NSIC Player of the Year Valeriya Monko for the best No. 1 singles mark in conference contests at 10-1. Grammatikaki's .923 winning percentage in No. 1 singles matches over the spring paced the NSIC as Monko was second with a 17-5 (.773) mark. Grammatikaki's signature win came in the final regular-season dual as she capped the campaign with a dramatic three-set victory over Monko, the then-ranked No. 67 DII singles player in the country, to hand Monko her only conference loss of the season.

In doubles, Grammatikaki finished the spring with a 10-3 doubles mark with partner Jessa Michieli, the seventh-best winning percentage (.769) in the NSIC. Michieli and Grammatikaki held a 3-2 No. 1 doubles mark and were 7-1 at No. 2 doubles, tying for the top No. 2 mark in the conference. Including four matches at the start of the season in fall 2021, the Athens, Greece native was 15-2 overall in singles over her freshman campaign, setting a program record for wins over a single season. UIU's previous high-water mark of 13 single-season singles wins was set by Iris Verweij (13-6) in 2014-15 and Anastasia Dabiza (13-1) in 2009-10. Grammatikaki joins Dabiza (2010), Amanda Nunez (2011), and Verweij (2014) as Peacocks who have won NSIC Freshman of the Year honors.

"Chara was impressive this season!" said Millet. "She showed tremendous growth and mental toughness as a freshman. She learned how to play doubles quickly and got better and better each and every week. In singles, she dominated in many of her matches, and her hunger for success was special. Before Chara, I had never seen a freshman player be as mature and driven as she is. Her hard work, competitive mindset, and willingness to be coached are special! She deserves all her awards, and she has a very bright future ahead of her! I am extremely proud of her!"

Ogorodnikova stepped it up in her sophomore season, going 8-3 in singles over the spring. The Samara, Russia native's .727 winning percentage in singles was the NSIC's 14th-best mark. Ogorodnikova went 5-1 in No. 3 singles matches to open 2022 before moving up to the No. 2 spot, where she went 3-2. Ogorodnikova was 7-3 in singles against NSIC competition, going 4-1 at No. 3 and 3-2 at No. 2. One of the sophomore's signature wins came against SMSU on Feb. 26, when she secured a 6-2, 7-5 win in the No. 3 singles match to break a 3-3 tie in the dual and secure a 4-3 victory for the Peacocks. In doubles, Ogorodnikova went 8-5 overall this spring with partner Lina Ziani and was 7-4 in NSIC contests. The doubles duo went 4-1 at No. 2 doubles before moving into the top doubles spot and going 4-3 to finish the season. Over the course of the 2021-22 campaign, Ogorodnikova was 11-4 in singles (7-1 at No. 3, 4-3 at No. 2) and 11-6 in doubles (6-2 at No. 2, 5-4 at No. 1).

"Varia took another step forward this season. She showed great composure and was able to control her matches much better this year. She always had a lot of power in her game, and she learned how to manage it and use it smartly this season. Her growth allowed her to have a very solid year in both singles and doubles. She is one of those players that never give up, and I know she will continue to develop and be a very solid player for this program."

Michieli made strong contributions over her sophomore campaign, particularly as a doubles partner with Grammatikaki. The Peacock pair were 10-3 in doubles in 2022 and posted the conference's seventh-highest overall winning percentage while tying for the best winning percentage at No. 2 doubles (.875). Michieli and Grammatikaki combined for one of Upper Iowa's most impressive doubles wins this season on Apr. 10 when they bested the No. 2 doubles duo of Valeriya Monko and Emily Granson for then-ranked No. 20 Augustana University, the eventual NSIC Champions. Michieli and Grammatikaki came out on top after a back-and-forth battle that required a tiebreaker to decide the winner. The Peacock pair won 7-6 thanks to a 7-3 edge in the tiebreak.

"Jessa had a great season, and I am happy that she got recognized for her doubles game. She is another player that took a giant step forward this season. She has always been a very hard worker, but this year her mental toughness greatly improved, allowing her to find great success on the court. She especially impressed me towards the end of the season, when her focus and motivation were on a different level. This allowed her to finish the year very strongly and show the type of player she is."

Upper Iowa finished the season with a 9-8 overall record and was 6-5 in NSIC contests, finishing with the conference's sixth-best mark. The Peacocks clinched their first postseason berth since slotting in as the second seed after the 2016-17 season. UIU's 2022 campaign came to a close in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament, falling 4-2 against three-seed Southwest Minnesota State University. This season's trio of All-Conference honorees are the first Peacocks to earn All-NSIC honors since the 2019 season (no awards were handed out in 2020 after the season was suspended due to the global pandemic). Shakhnaza Zhanatova was named to the All-NSIC Second Team for singles while pairing with Maryke Badenhorst for Third Team Doubles honors.