Great Shot Podcast [Tennis Podcast] · Bleav, Cracked Racquets

2025 Women's College Tennis Award Show ft. John Parsons

June 26, 2025·1 hr 15 min·5 clips

Dasha Vidmanova swept the singles and doubles titles, but who were the five contenders for Player of the Year?

Host Alex Gruskin is joined by college tennis expert John Parsons to present their annual awards for the 2025 women's college tennis season. They evaluate the top players, teams, and coaches from the year, aiming to archive their selections on a dedicated website. The episode focuses on handing out honors across numerous categories to define the season's story. The hosts reflect on a season dominated by a duopoly between Georgia and Texas A&M, who met in both the indoor and NCAA championship matches. They discuss contenders like UNC, Stanford, Oklahoma State, Michigan, and Virginia, noting key roster changes such as Stanford's Blokhina and Houghton turning pro. Parsons gives the overall season a B grade, citing a lack of serious challengers to the top two and a straightforward NCAA tournament without any 4-3 matches in the later rounds. The "gal" or Player of the Year award is unanimously given to Georgia's Dasha Vidmanova, who won the singles title and led her team to both national championships. Other strong contenders for top player included Reese Brantmeier, Connie Ma, Julia Fleegner, Mary Stoiana, and DJ Bennett, who made the NCAA singles final. For their "All Best Lineup" awards, the hosts select first and second teams for each singles and doubles position. First-team doubles picks included Georgia's Riasco/Vidmanova at No. 1, UCLA's Centeno/Fakih at No. 2, and Duke's Hovde/Jackson at No. 3. In singles, Vidmanova was the No. 1 selection, with Anastasia Lopata, Mia Kupres, Icicle Mert, Gracie Epps, and Sofia Rojas filling out the first team. Parsons makes a notable "wild card" pick by selecting Mel Riasco as a shared first-team choice at No. 3 singles, valuing her postseason performance despite injury. The hosts debate the depth at various lineup spots, noting No. 2 singles was particularly loaded while No. 3 was shallower. Coach of the Year nominees included Drake Bernstein of Georgia, Mark Weaver of Texas A&M, and Ronnie Bernstein of Michigan, among others, for achieving program milestones. The tone is conversational and deeply analytical, filled with insider references to specific matches, records, and statistics. Gruskin and Parsons display clear expertise, debating selections with detailed evidence from the season's results. This episode is ideal for dedicated college tennis fans who enjoy detailed, award-show style analysis and deep dives into player and team performances. Listeners seeking a broad overview or narrative-driven storytelling might find the granular focus less engaging.

As heard by us

A dense awards recap that weighs record against context instead of vibes.

College tennis is treated here less like a polite roundup and more like a real awards board, with Alex Gruskin and John J. Parsons sorting through the 2025 women's season on The Deciding Point.

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Why you'd press play

You want the final bow on the 2025 women's college tennis season and the arguments behind the awards.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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