Women's Tennis All-Conference Teams Released
Middlebury's Leung Scores Player & Rookie of the Year
HADLEY, Mass. – Middlebury first year standout Lok-Sze Leung (Hong Kong) has been chosen by the conference coaches as the NESCAC Player and Rookie of the Year, it was announced on Friday. Leung has enjoyed a stellar first season with the Panthers, as she heads into the NCAA Tournament with an impressive 29-2 mark in singles play.
Playing at No. 1 singles all season for the Panthers, Leung has won 10 of her last 11 outings in straight sets. This past fall, Leung ran through the competition at the USTA/ITA New England Regional Championships on Sept. 30-Oct. 2, then went on to win the National Small College Championships two weeks later. Leung was one of six players from the NESCAC chosen to participate in the NCAA singles championship May 24-26 at the Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C. In addition to receiving top individual honors, Leung earned All-NESCAC First Team Singles and was recognized with senior partner Anna Burke (Summit, N.J.) on the Doubles Second Team.
Also earning honors from Middlebury were the junior tandem of Brittney Faber (Minnetonka, Minn.) and Leah Kepping (Northport, N.Y.), as the duo garnered All-NESCAC First Team Doubles for the second year in a row. Middlebury's top doubles pair is 12-4 at the moment and has qualified for the NCAA doubles tournament, which will take place following the team championship, which the Panthers have also received a bid to.
Representing NESCAC champion Amherst on the First Team were senior Laura Danzig (Allendale, N.J.) along with sophomores Gabby Devlin (McLean, Va.) and Jennifer Newman (Haverford, Pa.). Danzig secured All-NESCAC Singles and Doubles plaudits for the third year in a row, as she was chosen to the First Team in 2010 before receiving Second Team honors in 2011. Spending most of the first half of the season at the second spot in the lineup before moving up to number one following a teammate's injury, Danzig is 15-6 in singles and 28-3 in doubles play, going 7-2 with partner Devlin. Devlin, who captured the NCAA doubles crown along with Jordan Brewer last spring, went 6-0 in doubles play at the third position before joining Danzig in April and claimed First Team Doubles for the second-straight season. Seeing action in the two spot in the lineup, Newman, who came away with First Team Singles and Second Team Doubles, is 14-6 on her own for Amherst entering this weekend's NCAA Tournament. All three will compete in the national individual tournament.
Williams matched rival Amherst's showing with three of its own players receiving First Team recognition. Senior Kristin Alotta (West Islip, N.Y.) came away as All-NESCAC for the fourth year in a row with her third consecutive appointment to the First Team Singles during a season in which she is 22-7 primarily playing at number one. Alotta added First Team Doubles for the first time in her career, partnering with sophomore Kathleen Elkins (Davidson, N.C.) to produce a 23-4 record at second doubles. The Ephs' Kara Shoemaker (Princeton, N.J.) has amassed a 19-6 mark during her sophomore campaign to earn First Team Singles for the first time. Shoemaker and Alotta have been invited to compete in the NCAA singles championship.
Bowdoin junior Kellen Alberstone (Los Angeles, Calif.) received First Team Singles honors for the second year in a row, as she once again played at the number-one spot for the Polar Bears and holds a 13-9 mark entering the weekend. Albertsone is an alternate to participate in the NCAA individual tournament.
Middlebury's Victoria Aiello (Milton, Mass.) took home the conference's Senior Sportswoman of the Year award. Over her four years with the Panthers, Aiello demonstrated respect and class during competition. She also had All-NESCAC bestowed upon her in each of her four seasons at Middlebury.
For the third time in four years, Williams head coach Alison Swain was selected by her counterparts as the NESCAC Coach of the Year. A 2001 graduate of the college and former All-NESCAC First Team Doubles honoree, Swain's squad is back in the NCAA Tournament this weekend looking for another national title. The Ephs have walked away with the NCAA trophy every year since she took the helm of the program back in 2008.
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2012 NESCAC Women's Tennis All-Conference Teams
|
First Team
|
Institution
|
Yr.
|
|
Hometown |
| Kellen Alberstone |
Bowdoin |
Jr. |
Singles |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Kristin Alotta |
Williams |
Sr. |
Singles/Doubles
|
West Islip, N.Y. |
| Laura Danzig |
Amherst |
Sr. |
Singles/Doubles |
Allendale, N.J. |
| Gabby Devlin |
Amherst |
So. |
Doubles |
McLean, Va. |
| Kathleen Elkins |
Williams |
So. |
Doubles |
Davidson, N.C. |
| Brittney Faber |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Doubles |
Minnetonka, Minn. |
| Leah Kepping |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Doubles |
Northport, N.Y. |
| Lok-Sze Leung |
Middlebury |
Fy. |
Singles |
Hong Kong |
| Jennifer Newman |
Amherst |
So. |
Singles |
Haverford, Pa. |
| Kara Shoemaker |
Williams |
So. |
Singles |
Princeton, N.J. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Second Team |
Institution |
Yr. |
|
Hometown |
| Victoria Aiello |
Middlebury |
Sr. |
Singles |
Milton, Mass. |
| Anna Burke |
Middlebury |
Sr. |
Doubles |
Summit, N.J. |
| Taylor French |
Williams |
Sr. |
Doubles |
Hidden Hills, Calif. |
| Samantha Gann |
Tufts |
So. |
Singles |
Massapequa, N.Y. |
| Hillary Hoyt |
Trinity |
Jr. |
Singles |
New York, N.Y. |
| Leah Kepping |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Singles |
Northport, N.Y. |
| Lok-Sze Leung |
Middlebury |
Fy. |
Doubles |
Hong Kong |
| Jennifer Newman |
Amherst |
So. |
Doubles |
Haverford, Pa. |
| Zoe Pangalos |
Amherst |
So. |
Doubles |
New York, N.Y. |
| Kara Shoemaker |
Williams |
So. |
Doubles |
Princeton, N.J. |
| Kate Winingham |
Bowdoin |
So. |
Singles |
Indianapolis, Ind. |
| Nancy Worley |
Williams |
Jr. |
Singles |
New Orleans, La. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Player of the Year |
Lok-Sze Leung
|
Middlebury |
Fy. |
|
Hong Kong
|
| |
| Rookie of the Year |
Lok-Sze Leung
|
Middlebury |
Fy. |
|
Hong Kong
|
| |
| Senior Sportswoman of the Year |
Victoria Aiello
|
Middlebury |
Sr. |
|
Milton, Mass.
|
| |
| Coach of the Year |
Alison Swain
|
Williams |
|
|
