The UT Martin duos of Sydney Eckhardt/Dylan Mott and Ryan Rednour/Addy Vaughn were selected to the All-OVC first team while the Skyhawk pairs of Olivia O’Keefe/Jenna Vallée and Kayla Carrell/Reagan McGee were tabbed to the All-OVC second team. Additionally, the league’s head coaches and sports information directors voted McGee to the five-member OVC All-Freshman squad.
Wednesday’s announcement marks the third career All-OVC first team nod for Mott, who becomes the first UT Martin representative to accomplish that feat (alongside three different playing partners). Carrell joins Mott, Logan Wallick (2021-23) and Haeleigh Paulino (2021-23) as the only players in school history to garner All-OVC honors in three separate seasons while Vaughn, O’Keefe and Vallée picked up their second career All-OVC mention.
Competing solely at No. 2 for the entire season together, Eckhardt/Mott went 18-7 overall with a perfect 8-0 record against league competition. Their longest winning streak of the season came from March 14-23 when they reeled off five consecutive victories (four against OVC schools). They accounted for solid nonconference triumphs against UTEP (March 3), Mercer (April 6), UNC Wilmington (April 7) and UAB (April 16).
Rednour/Vaughn played 93 percent of their matches as a pair out of the No. 3 position, going 14-15 overall but improving to 9-1 in OVC play. Those two won a season-high six straight decisions over a 10-day span in March, dispatching five league teams in the process. Rednour/Vaughn won their first seven OVC matches of the season, including a pair of victories over co-OVC champion Chattanooga.
O’Keefe/Vallée have joined forces 26 times this spring – all against stiff competition of the No. 1 pairings. Those two went 11-15 together with a 6-3 mark against league opposition, entering tomorrow’s OVC Championship tournament with the momentum of a 3-1 conference weekend behind them. They also boasted impressive nonconference triumphs over UTEP (March 3), Stephen F. Austin (March 30), Mercer (April 6) and Jacksonville State (April 10).
Playing primarily at No. 5 – but also adding a win at No. 4 together – is Carrell/McGee. Those two went 17-4 together with an unblemished 9-0 record in OVC play (not including a forfeit victory that would have capped off a 10-0 season against league rivals). Those two won a season-best seven decisions in a row from March 14-29, including five OVC wins and a victory over Texas during that stretch.
A Norfolk, Va. native, McGee was responsible for an 18-10 overall record while joining forces with three different partners (Carrell, Paulino, Dylan Sulcer). She won 17 of her final 21 decisions alongside Carrell, including all nine OVC matchups (10 if you include the aforementioned victory where the opponent forfeited). McGee joins current Skyhawk teammates Mott, Vaughn and Kayla Bryant as the only UT Martin players to be named an OVC All-Freshman.
The three-time defending OVC regular season champion and No. 1 seed Skyhawks start their participation in the 2024 OVC Championship tournament tomorrow at 1 p.m. CT, taking on either No. 4 seed Morehead State or No. 5 seed Tennessee Tech.
