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Somerset, NJ -- In becoming the first student-athlete in league history to win three NEC Women’s Tennis Player of the Year honors, LIU Brooklyn senior
Anna Grigoryan (Moscow, Russia/School 1043) can certainly stake her claim to being one of the best- if not the best - to ever compete on the conference circuit. Her unanimous selection went hand-in-hand with the Blackbirds winning a third straight NEC championship. Not surprisingly, LIU’s
Jan Griga was voted NEC Coach of the Year by his peers. Fairleigh Dickinson’s
Aleksandra Vorozheikina (Tambov, Russia) was named the NEC Rookie of the Year.
Grigoryan has done it all during her time as a Blackbird. She was the NEC Rookie of the Year back in 2015-16, and followed with her three straight NEC Player of the Year and All-NEC first team accolades. This season she won all six of her NEC matches to improve her four-year mark against conference rivals to a remarkable 21-2. Grigoryan helped spark LIU’s 4-0 win over FDU in the conference final with a straight set win at #1 singles to earn All-Tournament honors. Heading into NCAA Tournament play, she has won seven straight, leads the NEC with 13 victories and a .684 win percentage at the #1 spot, and paces the Blackbirds with 16 overall wins on the year. Grigoryan once again competed in the prestigious Oracle ITA Masters event last fall and posted a 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 win over Maria Kononova of North Texas, who was ranked 43rd nationally at the time. She also picked up non-conference wins against opponents from Columbia, Fordham and Villanova. Grigoryan was a three-time NEC Player of the Week and the February Player of the Month. Over the course of her career, she was named the NEC Player of the Week on eight occasions and was honored four times as the NEC Player of the Month. The Moscow native was also tabbed to the All-NEC first team at #1 doubles with Ana Leonte for the third straight season. Jessica Loose (2006), Selma Babic (2009, 2010) and Sanne Louwers (2014) are past NEC Player of the Year winners for LIU Brooklyn.
Vorozheikina looked more like a seasoned veteran than a first year player for FDU, and has all the tools to be the latest four-year mainstay for the Knights. In locking down the #2 singles spot, she led all NEC freshman and tied for second in the conference with 17 wins. She won 13 of her last 15 matches to close out the season. Vorozheikina, who hails from Tambov, Russia, also posted a league-best 8-2 record at #2 singles, went 7-1 vs. conference rivals and won a pair of matches in the NEC Tournament. Over the course of the regular season she was twice named NEC Player of the Week and was a three-time NEC Rookie of the Week. Vorozheikina is FDU’s fourth NEC Rookie of the Year, joining Julija Korsunova (2007), Nicole Chis (2013) and Ksenija Tihomirova (2014).
After serving as an assistant the last two years, Griga had the chance to raise the NEC trophy as a head coach for the first time this season. In securing a fifth conference title for the program, LIU finished a perfect 7-0 in league play, dropping just three singles matches in the process. In the Blackbirds’ run to the NEC championship in Mercer County, LIU did not drop a singles or doubles match along the way. LIU will enter NCAA play with a 14-7 dual match record, including notable victories over Villanova, Hofstra and Fordham. Since Griga’s arrival as an assistant back in 2016-17, the Blackbirds have put together a 44-18 overall record and 23-0 slate against NEC schools. This season saw four LIU players earned All-NEC singles honors to go along with All-Conference accolades for a pair of doubles teams. Griga, Anthony 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 second year that All-NEC honors were awarded without flight designations.
The #NECelite honorees continued to have an international flavor. Those voted to All-NEC and All-Rookie teams represented 11 different countries.
Of the 12 All-NEC singles winners, eight are underclassmen.
Two freshman - NEC Rookie of the Year
Aleksandra Vorozheikina (Tambov, Russia) and Bryant’s
Ada Boru (Boca Raton, FL/ Boca Prep International School) earned first team All-NEC honors.
NEC champion LIU Brooklyn was honored with a league-best four All-NEC singles honors and had two of its three doubles teams recognized as well.
NEC Player of the Year
Anna Grigoryan (Moscow, Russia/School 1043) of LIU Brooklyn, along with teammate
Malin Leysen (Leuven, Belgium/Kokinklijk Atheneum), earned All-NEC honors for their third time in their respective careers. Grigoryan was tabbed to the first team in each of the last three years, while Leysen was tabbed to the first team in 2017 and 2018, and the second team this season. LIU junior
Jessica Brzozowska (Melbourne, Australia/McKinnon Secondary College) made it back-to-back first team singles accolades. Grigoryan and junior
Ana Leonte (Basel, Switzerland/Gymnasium Kirschgarten) were voted to the All-NEC doubles first team for the third straight year, while Brzozowska and
Sasha Bollweg (Melbourne, Australia/Melbourne Girls College) took home second team honors a year after earning first team status.
After becoming the first Mount St. Mary’s student-athlete tabbed to the All-NEC singles first team a year ago, junior
Alexa Quintanilla (Lima, Peru/Colegio Maria Reina Marianistas) repeated as a first teamer in 2019. She has racked up 53 singles wins over his first three years in Emmitsburg.
FDU junior
Patricia Eftenoiu (Bucharest, Romania/Colegiul National Gheorghe Lazar) picked up the second All-NEC honor of her career. She was voted to the first team as a freshman in 2017.
St. Francis Brooklyn sophomore
Jean-Na Koo (Lewisville, TX/Hebron) became the first Terrier in program history to earn All-NEC recognition with her selection to the second team.
Bryant earned distinction as the first school to have three players named to the NEC All-Rookie team. The NEC started sponsoring an All-Rookie team in 2015.
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 38th 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. Merrimack will join the NEC as a full-time member in July, 2019. 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.
2019 NEC Women’s Tennis Award Winners
NEC Player of the Year
Anna Grigoryan LIU Brooklyn Sr Moscow, Russia/School 1043
NEC Rookie of the Year
Aleksandra Vorozheikina Fairleigh Dickinson Fr Tambov, Russia
NEC Coach of the Year
Jan Griga LIU Brooklyn
2019 NEC Women’s Tennis First Team All-Conference
Singles
Name School Yr Hometown/High School
Ada Boru Bryant Fr Boca Raton, FL/Boca Prep International School
Jessica Brzozowska LIU Brooklyn Jr Melbourne, Australia/McKinnon Secondary College
Anna Grigoryan LIU Brooklyn Sr Moscow, Russia/School 1043
Alexa Quintanilla Mount St. Mary’s Jr Lima, Peru/Colegio Maria Reina Marianistas
Marta Ruszczynska Fairleigh Dickinson Sr Warsaw, Poland/XLIV Liceum Ogólnoksztalcace im. Antoniego Dobiszewskiego
Aleksandra Vorozheikina Fairleigh Dickinson Fr Tambov, Russia
Doubles
Ada Boru Bryant Fr Boca Raton, FL/Boca Prep International School
Sarah Hickey Bryant Fr Toronto, Ontario/Silverthorn Collegiate Institute
Anna Grigoryan LIU Brooklyn Sr Moscow, Russia
Ana Leonte LIU Brooklyn Jr Basel, Switzerland/Gymnasium Kirschgarten
Hannah Davis Mount St. Mary’s Jr Mokena, IL/Providence Catholic
Alexa Quintanilla Mount St. Mary’s Jr Lima, Peru/Colegio Maria Reina Marianistas
2019 NEC Women’s Tennis Second Team All-Conference
Singles
Name School Yr Hometown/High School
Patricia Eftenoiu Fairleigh Dickinson Jr Bucharest, Romania/Colegiul National Gheorghe Lazar
Jean-Na Koo St. Francis Brooklyn So Lewisville, TX/Hebron
Ana Leonte LIU Brooklyn Jr Basel, Switzerland/Gymnasium Kirschgarten
Malin Leysen LIU Brooklyn Sr Leuven, Belgium/Kokinklijk Atheneum
Arianna Oropeza Bryant So Weston, FL/Cypress Bay
Olivia Podsiebierski Sacred Heart Sr Linden, NJ/Linden
Doubles
Sasha Bollweg LIU Brooklyn Jr Melbourne, Australia/Melbourne Girls College
Jessica Brzozowska LIU Brooklyn Jr Melbourne, Australia/McKinnon Secondary College
Marta Ruszczynska Fairleigh Dickinson Sr Warsaw, Poland/XLIV Liceum Ogólnoksztalcace im. Antoniego Dobiszewskiego
Aleksandra Vorozheikina Fairleigh Dickinson Fr Tambov, Russia
Stephanie Miller Saint Francis U Sr Washington, D.C./St. John’s CollegeHS
Laura Gutierrez Saint Francis U Jr Bogota, Colombia/Cibercolegio UCN
2019 NEC Women’s All-Rookie Team
Name School Yr Hometown/High School
Ada Boru Bryant Fr Boca Raton, FL/Boca Prep International School
Sarah Hickey Bryant Fr Toronto, Ontario/Silverthorn Collegiate Institute
Leanne Kendall Bryant Fr Lakeville, MA/Apponequet Regional
Sandra Siles Polo St. Francis Brooklyn Fr Barcelona, Spain/Institut Jaume Balmes
Smriti Singh Fairleigh Dickinson Fr Gurgaon, India/Pathways World School
Aleksandra Vorozheikina Fairleigh Dickinson Fr Tambov, Russia