WICHITA, Kan. – For the second time in her illustrious Friends University career, senior Silva Avakian has been named the KCAC Women's Tennis Player of the Year, the conference office has announced.
Additionally, Avakian is a first-team All-KCAC performer for the third straight season and sophomore Aneth Diaz earned second-team All-KCAC honors. On the men's side, junior Cristobal Fuentes is a second-team All-KCAC performer.
Also a two-time NAIA All-American, Avakian has anchored the Falcons No. 1 singles and doubles position since arriving on campus in 2023. This season, Avakian won 18 of her 20 singles matches, with her only blemish in KCAC regular season play coming when she was forced to retire in the second set vs. McPherson College (Apr. 6).
The No. 13-ranked NAIA singles player in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), Avakian handed No. 37-ranked Daniela Casique of Bethel College her only regular season KCAC defeat last Thursday (Apr. 16) 6-1, 6-3. The Pasadena, Calif. native has also helped post a 14-6 record in the No. 1 doubles spot for the Falcons during the regular season.
Diaz, a native of Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, has often played in the No. 2 singles spot for the Falcons this year and has also frequently teamed with Avakian at No. 1 doubles. In singles, Diaz was 14-6 in the regular season, with a 10-6 doubles mark.
Fuentes has been strong in both No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles for the Falcon Men, going 12-7 in singles matches and 14-6 in doubles competitions with Gabriel Gomes during the 2025-26 regular season.
"Friends tennis athletes again prove they are some of the best players in the KCAC," said Friends tennis head coach Alex Lee. "Silva as Player of the Year for the second time. Aneth and Cris again, proved to be in the top 12 players in the league this season."
Both the Falcon Men's and Women's tennis teams qualified as the seventh seed in the KCAC Tournament. It is believed to be the first time both teams qualified for the conference postseason tournament in the same year in program history.
