Women's Tennis All-NESCAC Selections Announced
Wesleyan's Chong Named Player and Rookie of the Year
HADLEY, Mass. - Wesleyan first-year Eudice Chong (Sai Kung, Hong Kong) has been selected by the conference coaches as the NESCAC Player and Rookie of the Year. Chong, who is currently unbeaten at No. 1 singles with a record of 17-0, helped the Cardinals earn a berth in the NESCAC Championship for the second time in program history. She is the first Wesleyan player to receive either award, and joins Middlebury’s Lok-Sze Leung (2012) as the only women’s tennis players in conference history to win both accolades in the same season.
Chong has only dropped one set in singles play this season, which came during her first match of the spring. She was one of eight singles players from the NESCAC chosen to participate in the NCAA individual championships from May 21-23 in Mason, Ohio. The rookie sensation teamed up with classmate Helen Klass-Warch (St. Paul, Minn.) at No. 1 doubles to post a mark of 19-3 to earn First Team doubles recognition. The duo has won eight of its last nine matches dating back to March 20, and will compete in the doubles tournament of the NCAA Championships.
NESCAC Champion Williams was represented on the First Team by two singles players and one doubles team. Senior Maria Pylypiv (Weatogue, Conn.) posted a 25-4 record at the No. 1 singles position to earn all-conference recognition in singles for the first time in her career. In the fall, she advanced to the semifinals of the USTA/ITA New England Regional Championship and the NEWITT Tournament. Pylypiv started the spring with six straight wins and is currently riding a six-match winning streak heading into the NCAA Team Championship. She was also selected to compete in the singles portion of the NCAA Championships. She partnered with first-year Julia Cancio (Concord, Mass.) at No. 1 doubles in March, and the pairing has posted a 9-6 record since then. They will look to continue their winning ways in the doubles portion of the NCAA Championships later this month. It is Pylypiv’s second appearance on the First Team in doubles after being named to the First Team in doubles in 2013 and the Second Team in 2014. Pylypiv has also been named the conference’s Senior Sportswoman of the Year, becoming the fifth Eph to garner the accolade. The award is given annually to the individual who best combined and displayed a high standard of tennis with the highest levels of sportsmanship.
Joining Pylypiv and Cancio on the First Team from Williams is first-year Juli Raventos (San Jose, Costa Rica). Raventos has made an immediate impact for the Ephs, as she is 27-4 at the No. 2 singles position and has won nine consecutive matches since dropping her only match of the spring on April 3. She also reached the finals of the USTA/ITA New England Regional Championship and the NEWITT Tournament last fall. Raventos, who will compete in the singles tournament of the NCAA Championships, was also selected to the Second Team in doubles.
The Amherst doubles team of junior Sue Ghosh (Gaithersburg, Md.) and first-year Vickie Ip (Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong) collected First Team honors. The duo has been successful since the start of the year as Ghosh and Ip reached the semifinals of the USTA/ITA New England Championship and the final of the NEWITT Tournament. This season, they have established a record of 19-7 at the No. 1 position for the Jeffs and will compete in the doubles tournament of the NCAA Championships. Ip was also named to the First Team in singles after posting a 16-8 mark to help Amherst earn a berth in the NCAA Team Championship. Earlier in the season, she reached the quarterfinal round of the USTA/ITA New England Regional Championship and the final of the NEWITT Tournament en route to being chosen to compete in the singles tournament at the NCAA Championships. Ghosh landed on the Second Team in singles for the second straight year.
Rounding out the First Team singles honorees are Middlebury junior Ria Gerger (Houston, Texas) and Bowdoin sophomore Joulia Likhanskaia (Winter Park, Fla.). Gerger finds herself on the First Team in singles for the first time in her career after being selected for the Second Team in singles in 2013 and 2014. She helped Middlebury earn the No. 2 seed in the NESCAC Championship, its highest seed since 2007, and a berth in the NCAA Team Championship by going 12-2 at No. 1 singles. Gerger was named to the Second Team in doubles for the second straight year as well. Likhanskaia, the 2014 NESCAC Rookie of the Year, won 10 of 11 singles matches midway through the spring season at the No. 1 position for the Polar Bears, as she heads into the NCAA Team Championship with an 11-6 mark. The two-time First Team selection in singles was also named to the Second Team in doubles. Both players were selected to compete in the singles portion of the NCAA Championships, while Likhanskaia will also compete in the doubles tournament.
For the fifth time in seven years, Williams eighth-year head coach Alison Swain was selected by her peers as NESCAC Coach of the Year. A 2001 Williams graduate and former All-NESCAC First Team Doubles honoree, Swain led the Ephs to their seventh conference championship overall this spring en route to an unblemished 20-0 record heading into the NCAA Championship this weekend.
Women's Tennis All-Conference Teams
| First Team All-NESCAC |
| Name |
Institution |
Class |
Position |
Hometown |
| Julia Cancio |
Williams |
Fy. |
Doubles |
Concord, Mass. |
| Eudice Chong |
Wesleyan |
Fy. |
Singles/Doubles |
Sai Kung, Hong Kong |
| Ria Gerger |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Singles |
Houston, Texas |
| Sue Ghosh |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Doubles |
Gaithersburg, Md. |
| Vickie Ip |
Amherst |
Fy. |
Singles/Doubles |
Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong |
| Helen Klass-Warch |
Wesleyan |
Fy. |
Doubles |
St. Paul, Minn. |
| Joulia Likhanskaia |
Bowdoin |
So. |
Singles |
Winter Park, Fla. |
| Maria Pylypiv |
Williams |
Sr. |
Singles/Doubles |
Weatogue, Conn. |
| Juli Raventos |
Williams |
Fy. |
Singles |
San Jose, Costa Rica |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Second Team All-NESCAC |
| Name |
Institution |
Class |
Position |
Hometown |
| Lily Bondy |
Middlebury |
So. |
Doubles |
Brooklyn, N.Y. |
| Tiffany Cheng |
Bowdoin |
Jr. |
Singles/Doubles |
Laguna Hills, Calif. |
| Melita Ferjanic |
Trinity |
Jr. |
Singles |
Samobor, Croatia |
| Alexandra Fields |
Middlebury |
So. |
Singles |
Coral Gables, Fla. |
| Ria Gerger |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Doubles |
Houston, Texas |
| Sue Ghosh |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Singles |
Gaithersburg, Md. |
| Joulia Likhanskia |
Bowdoin |
So. |
Doubles |
Winter Park, Fla. |
| Juli Raventos |
Williams |
Fy. |
Doubles |
San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Linda Shin |
Williams |
So. |
Singles/Doubles |
Johns Creek, Ga. |
| Tess Trinka |
Bowdoin |
Fy. |
Singles |
Chicago, Ill. |
|
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