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Somerset, NJ -- The league’s top returning player took her game next level this past season, so it’s no surprise that Northeast Conference coaches tabbed LIU Brooklyn junior
Anna Grigoryan (Moscow, Russia/School 1043) as the unanimous NEC Women’s Tennis Player of the Year for the second straight season. LIU Brooklyn’s
Anthony Davison repeated as NEC Coach of the Year after the Blackbirds defended their conference crown, while Bryant freshman
Arianna Oropeza (Weston, FL/Cypress Bay) earned NEC Rookie of the Year honors.
Grigoryan has been a dominant force in her time in Brooklyn. From winning the NEC Rookie of the Year award as a freshman to becoming a back-to-back NEC Player of the Year recipient, the Moscow native has built a portfolio that’s second to none over her first three years. Grigoryan has compiled a 23-7 singles mark this season, highlighted by a 16-2 record at the #1 spot. She went 7-0 against conference competition, including a pair of wins in the postseason to capture the inaugural NEC Tournament MVP award. Grigoryan ranks first in the NEC in overall (23) and #1 flight (16) victories, and second in win percentage (.767). The junior enters the NCAA Tournament with a 15-1 record in her last 16 singles matches and can boast of victories over opponents from Yale, Cornell, Seton Hall, UMass and Columbia. Grigoryan was a three-time NEC Player of the Month and two-time NEC Player of the Week. She was also named to the All-NEC first team at #1 doubles with Ana Leonte for the second straight season. Jessica Loose (2006), Selma Babic (2009, 2010) and Sanne Louwers (2014) are past NEC Player of the Year winners for LIU Brooklyn.
Oropeza locked down the #5 singles spot for NEC runner-up Bryant, and looks to be the next in a long line of singles stars for the Bulldogs. She did not lose a match the last two months of the season, winning nine straight to close out her year, including three straight set victories in the NEC Tournament. Oropeza finished the year with a team-high 15 wins and she ranks first in the league with a .789 win percentage after ending the year with a 15-4 mark. She posted a 10-2 record in #5 flight action and went 5-1 vs. NEC rivals. The two-time NEC Rookie of the Week joined teammate Ashanti Campfield as Bryant players named NEC Rookie of the Year.
It’s been a magical two years for Davison, who has led LIU Brooklyn to back-to-back NEC titles following a six-year drought for the program. The Blackbirds enter the NEC Tournament with a 17-4 dual match record, including notable victories over Seton Hall, UMass, Hofstra and Fordham. LIU was a perfect 8-0 in conference play and dropped just one match at the conference championship en-route to the program’s fourth NEC title. The Blackbirds have compiled a 30-10 overall record and 16-0 slate against conference schools over his two years. Since Davison’s arrival, he’s added four NEC singles all-stars to team up with two-time NEC Player of the Year Ann Grigoryan. Likewise, five LIU players earned 2018 first team All-NEC singles honors and all three of his doubles teams were named All-Conference. Davison (2017, 2018) and four-time winner Asi Phillips (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010) are NEC Coach of the Year honorees from LIU Brooklyn.
AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS
This marked the first year that All-NEC honors were awarded without flight designations.
The #NECelite honorees have an international flavor. Those voted to All-NEC teams represent 13 different countries with the 12 All-NEC singles honorees hailing from ten different countries.
Of the 12 All-NEC singles winners, only two are seniors and eight are underclassmen.
NEC champion LIU Brooklyn claimed a league-best five All-NEC singles honors, including four first team award winners. The Blackbirds also had all three of their doubles team recognized.
NEC Player of the Year
Anna Grigoryan (Moscow, Russia/School 1043) of LIU Brooklyn, along with Bryant seniors
Ashanti Campfield (Stratford, CT/Bunnell) and
Stefanie Arroyo (Gurabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Católico Notre Dame), all earned All-NEC honors for their third time in their respective careers. Campfield was lauded twice on the first team as a #5 flight player in 2015 and 2016, before moving up all the way up the ladder and manning the #1 spot this past season. Arroyo was a first teamer in each of the last two years and was voted to the second team this season.
Grigoryan and teammates
Jennifer Gogova (London, England/Ashmole Academy) and
Malin Leysen (Leuven, Belgium/Kokinklijk Atheneum) all repeated as first team NEC all-stars. Sophomore
Sasha Bollweg (Melbourne, Australia/Melbourne Girls College), the 2016-17 NEC Rookie of the Year, collected second team plaudits following first team honors a year ago.
Sophomore
Vedika Anand (New Delhi, India/The Shri Ram School) became the first player in Wagner history to earn All-NEC singles recognition with her selection to the second team. She led Wagner with 11 victories and posted a 9-5 record at #1 singles. Similarly, St. Francis Brooklyn freshman
Jean-na Koo (Lewisville, TX/Hebron) made history by becoming the first Terrier in program history to claim a postseason honor. Koo, who went 7-1 in #2 singles play on the year, was tabbed to the All-Rookie squad. Mount St. Mary’s sophomore
Alexa Quintanilla (Lima, Peru/Colegio Maria Reina Marianistas) earned distinction as the Mount’s first-ever first team singles honoree. She ranked second in the NEC with 20 wins over the course of the season.
FDU sophomore
Tatiana Eftenoiu (Bucharest, Romania/Colegiul National Gheorghe Lazar) repeated as a second team All-NEC award winner.
Grigoryan and
Ana Leonte (Basel, Switzerland/Gymnasium Kirschgarten) were named first team doubles for a second straight year.
Saint Francis U’s
Lucia Seigford (Madrid, Spain/Mirasur) was a double winner, taking home second team honors in singles and doubles along with partner
Raksha Bode (Reunion, FL/Florida Virtual School).
The future looks bright for Sacred Heart, which had two players -
Laura Crivei (Richmond Hill, Ontario/Cardinal Carter Catholic) and
Keira Tobia (Tuckahoe, NY/The Ursuline School, New Rochelle) - named to the NEC All-Rookie team.
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 37th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, all @NECsports.