CHICAGO — Yanlis Feliz has been named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year and head coach Tony Trifonov is the WAC's Coach of the Year, the conference announced Wednesday.
Both honors are the first of their kind for the university since Chicago State joined the WAC in 2013.
"I'm honored and humbled that my peers in the WAC have voted me as the Coach of the Year," Trifonov said. "It's a huge recognition, but even more than that, I'm happy for Yanlis.
"She's worked so hard and has taken a ton of swings this season. She's carried our team through many tough matches. She's scored a lot of points, but even more than that, she's been a leader on our team. I'm proud to have watched her grow, and I'm thrilled that the conference, and the country, have taken notice of the special player Yanlis is."
Feliz, CSU volleyball's star outside hitter, has rolled through her competition in her second season. Feliz capped the regular season with 499 kills, averaging 5.25 kills per set, both leading the WAC. Her kills per set also stand as the most per set in program history.
Feliz wrapped the regular season ranking in the top three of all of NCAA Division I in kills and kills per set.
"I am very excited to be named Player of the Year and above all to put the name of the university at the top," Feliz said. "I thank everyone who gave their support in each game, plus all who trusted me and still trust me. My next objective is to win the WAC."
A redshirt sophomore from Pedernales, Dominican Republic, Feliz spent her first collegiate season at Seward County Community College in Kansas, where she played for Trifonov and powered a team that reached the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) title game behind Feliz's dominance. Feliz earned seven conference player of the week awards and was named NJCAA DI Volleyball All-America First Team.
Last season, facing her first Division I, Feliz started all 10 matches for CSU and ranked second in the WAC with 3.73 kills per set.
Feliz is experienced on the international level, as well, having competed with the Dominican Republic National Team at the under-23, under-20 and under-18 levels, propelling her squad to a silver medal at the U-18 World Cup in Argentina in 2017.
"Our whole department and University is behind the commitment to hard work and competitive spirit that Yanlis brings to the gym each and every day," Chicago State Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Elliott Charles said. "Yanlis' accomplishments thus far at CSU are an embodiment of the standard that we want to continue to set as CSU Athletics in #OurChampionshipEra."
Feliz was named the WAC's Offensive Player of the Week three times in 2021 and also earned postseason first-team honors Wednesday.
This season under Trifonov, who today garnered his WAC Coach of the Year honor, Chicago State has racked up the most wins in the program's Division I era (since 1988). Prior to 2021, no CSU team had even won 12 matches in a season. This year's Cougars won their 12th match on October 22, with nearly a month remaining in the season.
Trifonov has engineered one of college volleyball's most dramatic turnarounds, turning a 1-9 squad from the spring into a 17-9 team now on the verge of its second consecutive WAC Tournament appearance.
"Coach Trifonov's recognition as WAC Coach of the Year is a continuation of a great legacy that Tony has built by receiving the coach of the year award at least once in every conference where he has served as a head coach," Charles said. "Coach Trifonov continues to display his commitment to developing competitive teams, cultivating a successful student-athlete experience, and serving as a nationally-recognized ambassador for the sport of women's volleyball."
Trifonov was named head coach in July 2020 after an impressive run of success at Seward County, which included the Saints first-ever national No. 1 ranking and back-to-back Final Four appearances.
Previously, the veteran Trifonov was the head volleyball coach at Florida A&M University for 21 seasons (1997-2018) where he left as one of the most decorated coaches in the history of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Trifonov posted a 378-218 overall record, including 206-10 in the conference, which his teams won 19 times.
From 2001-08, the Rattlers won 112 consecutive conference matches, the third longest streak in NCAA history.
Trifonov played volleyball in his hometown of Sofia, Bulgaria, and competed on the national level, at one point winning three national championships and the Bulgarian Junior National team.
He later appeared with the Bulgarian National team and placed sixth at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea.
Trifonov, Feliz and the history-making Cougars will face Stephen F. Austin in the first round of the WAC Tournament on Thursday, November 18 at 5 p.m. CT. The Cougars earned the WAC's No. 3-seed after finishing second in the West Division.
About Chicago State
Chicago State University Athletics is comprised of 15 intercollegiate teams involving over 150 student-athletes that compete in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. CSU held memberships in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and NCAA Division II before transitioning to NCAA Division I in 1994. Melvin Bland was the first CSU student-athlete to gain NAIA All-American status in 1974 as a wrestler. Fred Evans became the first black swimmer ever to win a national championship in 1975. CSU's women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational and CSU's men's basketball team won the 2013 Great West Conference Tournament title and made an appearance in the CollegeInside.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Men's Outdoor Track & Field 4x100-Meter Relay team were 2019 Honorable Mention All-Americans and WAC Champions. Their feat marked the first time the Chicago State's men's track & field program was represented at the national meet.
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