OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Anastasiya Baranova, a senior on last season's Great American Conference Champion women's tennis team, has been announced as an honoree at the 40th Anniversary of the March of Dimes Sports Headliner Banquet hosted by the Oklahoma chapter of March of Dimes. The banquet is scheduled for Thursday, August 25th at 6 p.m.
Every year, the March of Dimes holds the banquet to honor athletes, coaches and teams across the state that have brought national attention to Oklahoma. The money raised at the banquet helps to fund March of Dimes programs and initiatives, helping to care for premature babies and newborns with birth defects, and research to prevent infant mortality.
"I'm really grateful for this award, and incredibly honored to receive it," said Baranova ahead of the banquet. "I'm really glad that I was with such a good program at OBU and a coach like Coach [Peter] McCorkle. I was blessed with a great team. I couldn't have done the last four years without all of them."
A four-time All-American at Oklahoma Baptist, the Sochi, Russia, native racked up a school-record 143 wins over a sterling career. In 2016, Baranova compiled a 15-6 record in singles play, as well as a 24-1 doubles record with teammate
Kateryna Shkot, en route to First Team All-GAC honors. Her efforts also led the Lady Bison to a perfect 7-0 record in GAC regular season play, earning OBU its first conference championship at the Division II level.
"We're so proud of Anastasiya," expressed OBU Women's Tennis coach
Peter McCorkle. "This is just another award that shows how great of an athlete she is and how much she's contributed to our team. She's being recognized alongside some of the best athletes, not just in the state, but in the world. We're so blessed to have had Anastasiya at Oklahoma Baptist University!"
Co-Sports Headliners of the Year are the University of Oklahoma's Buddy Hield and Thunder star Russell Westbrook. Other honorees at the event include Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, Buddy Hield and Patty Gasso. Oklahoma State's national runner-up women's tennis team will also be represented at the banquet.
