Fereres, Frierson selected to 2026 SSAC Scholar-Athlete Team

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Southern States Athletic Conference announced the 2026 SSAC Women's Tennis Scholar-Athlete Team, and Loyola University New Orleans was represented by graduate students Adele Fereres and Avery Frierson. 

To be eligible, student-athletes must be a sophomore or above in both academic and athletic standing, must be starters or important reserves, have at least a 3.3 cumulative GPA, and have competed in 50 percent of competitions. Graduate students and transfers must have completed one semester at the school.

Fereres, who had a 3.97 undergraduate GPA and a 3.731 graduate school GPA, has now made the conference's Scholar-Athlete team in each of the past three seasons. Frierson, who posted an undergraduate GPA of 3.889 and a graduate school GPA of 3.435, is making her first appearance on the SSAC Scholar-Athlete Team. 

The Wolf Pack recently qualified for the NAIA National Championship tournament for the fourth year in a row after posting an 8-7 record during the season, including 4-1 in conference play. 

It has been another successful season for Fereres, who has strung together double-digit victories in singles competition for the fourth consecutive season. The No. 41-ranked singles player heading into the national tournament, Fereres currently has a singles record of 10-2 while holding down the No. 3 position. Frierson, who plays on the No. 2 court in singles, has a 6-5 singles record.

In doubles, Fereres and Frierson have been one of the NAIA's best duos, currently holding a ranking of No. 13 nationally. After going 5-3 in the fall with an appearance at the ITA Cup, they've gone 3-2 together in the spring. Fereres also won five doubles matches with Micaela Ponce, and Frierson won two with Juliette Finch and another two with Sofia Amodu. 

Loyola will begin next week's national tournament as the No. 11 seed, facing off against No. 22 seed Oklahoma Wesleyan on May 12 at 1 p.m. 

2026 SSAC Women's Tennis Scholar-Athlete Team

Avery Frierson, Loyola
Adele Fereres, Loyola
JiAn Kang, William Carey
Victoria Vieten, William Carey*
Tara Zivic, Mobile
Isabella Lechuga, William Carey
Karolina Mrowiecova, Mobile

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