West Valley's Prokter named ITA Rookie of the Year

SARATOGA - After helping the 2022 Vikings to their best season since the program restarted in 2018, Abigail Prokter has been named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Region One Rookie of the Year. The ITA annually awards a first-year student-athlete who made significant contributions to her team in the areas of leadership, sportsmanship and performance.

Prokter was one of several CCCAA student-athletes and coaches honored and announced by the ITA recently.

West Valley ended the year 16th in the state (7th among NorCal teams) in the final ITA rankings. Prokter was one of four Vikings - Zeynep Aynaci, Sonya Hu and Seraphina Vossen were the other three - who qualified for both the CCCAA NorCal and State Championship tournaments. She earned All-Coast Conference honors and ended the year 12th in the final ITA singles rankings and, with Vossen, 12th on the ITA doubles list.

"I enjoyed watching Abby grow as a player and a teammate this past season," said Viking head coach Lauren Hickey. "Since arriving on campus, she has worked incredibly hard to improve all aspects of her game."

Prokter didn't lose a Coast singles match, going 14-1 overall and recording an epic 4-6, 6-4, 10-6 win over UC Santa Cruz's Natalie Springer on Feb. 25. She teamed with Vossen to go 14-4 in doubles during the regular season. Prokter and Vossen provided a preview of things to come when they won the ITA NorCal title and earned a berth in the ITA National Championship in Georgia in October.

"Her on-court success is a testament to her mental toughness and work ethic," Hickey added. "Abby is a tremendous teammate and a great student-athlete."

The Saratoga native and Westmont High School product returns for her sophomore season on a West Valley team loaded with experienced returners and exciting newcomers.

"I am so excited for Abby to earn this recognition on the state level," Hickey said. "I'm even more excited to see how she improves next year!"

(Matt Folsom, West Valley)