The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Herea, Bowers receive SEC women's tennis honors
04.23.2025 | Women's Tennis
Freshman Carmen Herea was named Second Team All-SEC, while Herea and freshman Ashton Bowers received All-Freshman Team accolades.
Austin – No. 14 Texas Women's Tennis had two players receive a total of three SEC honors as the conference released its women's tennis awards on Wednesday.
Freshman Carmen Herea was named Second Team All-SEC, while Herea and fellow freshman Ashton Bowers received All-Freshman Team accolades.
Herea is currently ranked No. 38 in singles and has been as high as No. 20 this year. She has posted an outstanding 23-8 overall singles record this year, including 14-5 in dual matches and 9-3 in the SEC, beginning the season at No. 4 singles before moving up to No. 3 then No. 2 and playing two matches at No. 1. She has nine ranked singles victories this year, including two in the top 30 and one over then-No. 10 Elza Tomase of Tennessee in tournament play in January. She has four ranked wins in SEC play, highlighted by No. 28 Merna Refaat of Auburn, No. 58 Kaitlyn Carnicella of South Carolina, and No. 64 Emma Staker of Oklahoma. She has also been leading in four of her five unfinished matches in dual play. In doubles, Herea has compiled a 14-10 dual match record, going 10-6 at No. 3 and 4-4 at No. 2, including 9-5 in the SEC. She has won her five of her last seven doubles contests and seven of the last 10 with three different partners. That includes a win with Sabina Zeynalova over then-No. 90 Aysegul Mert and Hayden Mulberry to help win the doubles point in a 4-2 overall victory over No. 1 Georgia on April 11. She also had a win with Eszter Meri over No. 53 Salakthip Ounmuang and Gloriana Nahum to clinch doubles in a 4-3 win over then-No. 12 Oklahoma in February.
Bowers is currently ranked No. 95 in singles and No. 28 in doubles and has been has high as No. 65 in singles and No. 24 in doubles this year. She is 17-14 overall in singles this year, and 6-7 in the SEC, initially at No. 3 before moving up to No. 2 and then No. 1. She has five ranked singles victories, including over No. 33 Alina Shcherbinina of Oklahoma in a 4-3 win. In doubles, she has played predominantly at No. 1 with Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo while posting a 12-11 dual match record, including 8-6 in the SEC, while going 15-13 overall. She and Anazagasty-Pursoo have a win over then-No. 27 Piper Charney and Jessica Bernales of Michigan, and they also defeated No. 65 Ellie Eades and Lizzy Stevens of Kentucky, while Bowers paired with Sabina Zeynalova in the season opener for a win over No. 7 Grace Piper and Lily Fairclough of USC. In the fall, she reached the singles final of the ITA Texas Regionals and qualified for the NCAA Singles Championships but was forced to withdraw with an injury.
Herea and Bowers helped lead the Longhorns to a 16-10 overall record, including 9-6 in the program's debut season in the SEC. They now await their seeding and potential hosting for the NCAA Tournament, which will be announced on the selection show on NCAA.com on Monday, April 28, at 4 p.m. CT.
Players Mentioned
