Bea Bielik Named ACC Player of the Year
4/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 26, 2002
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Wake Forest junior Bea Bielik was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Year, as announced by the league office on Friday. Bielik, along with Deacon senior Janet Bergman, was also named to the All-ACC Women's Tennis team.
Bielik, ranked No. 1 nationally in both singles and doubles for most of the season, has compiled a 26-2 record in singles this season. She captured the National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in the fall, and posted a 19-1 record in spring dual meets, including a 4-1 ACC mark at the No. 1 spot. Bielik's lone loss this spring came to Duke's Kelly McCain, when a sprained ankle forced her to retire in the second set. Over the course of the season Bielik has defeated 19 ranked opponents and was named ACC Player of the Week twice.
Bielik, from Valley Stream, N.Y., has teamed up with Bergman in doubles for the last three seasons to form one of the nation's top tandems. The duo was ranked No. 1 for most of this spring after appearing in the National Indoors finals in November. The duo then went on to post a 19-1 dual match mark, including a 5-1 record in ACC matches, and is currently ranked No. 4.
With one more year of eligibility remaining, Bielik has already made her mark on the Deacon record book, as she ranks first on Wake's career singles winning percentage list, having won over 88 percent of her matches thus far (91-12). She is tied for fourth in career doubles wins with 90 victories, and third on the team doubles victories list after winning 73 matches with Bergman. In fact, the duo needs just two more wins to break the school record for doubles victories as a team in a single season (33).
Bielik becomes Wake Forest's second ACC Player of the Year for the 2001-02 season. Field hockey's Jemima Cameron was named ACC co-Player of the Year in the fall. Bielik's All-ACC team selection is also her third straight.
Bergman, with her fourth selection to the All-ACC team, sets a milestone in becoming just the second player in WFU history to be named to the squad all four years of her career.
Hailing from Pinehurst, N.C., Bergman is Wake's all-time wins leader in both singles (126) and doubles (114), taking over the top spot in both categories during the course of this season. In singles, she's compiled a 25-11 mark and 16-6 dual match record this year, playing mainly at No. 2. She's been ranked as high as No. 12 during the 2001-02 season, and is currently listed at No. 22 in the singles rankings.
Bergman has compiled a 33-4 doubles mark this season, playing most of those matches with Bielik. In fact, she needs just three more victories this year to set the school single-season record for doubles wins (36).
The Wake Forest women's tennis team, with a 21-5 record, awaits its ninth-straight bid to the NCAA Tournament. Action begins May 10-12 at 16 regional sites across the country. Locations will be announced next Thursday, May 2.