HADLEY, Mass. - The 2023 NESCAC Women's Tennis awards were announced on Thursday. Nika Vesely of Wesleyan was named the NESCAC Player of the Year honor, while Sophie Diop of Amherst was selected as the NESCAC Rookie of the Year, and Tufts senior Tilly Rigby was the recipient of the Senior
Sportswoman of the Year. Wesleyan head coach Mike Fried was voted as the NESCAC Coach of the Year by his peers.
Vesely, who helped the Cardinals capture their fourth straight NESCAC Championship, is the second Cardinal in program history to earn NESCAC Player of the Year honors joining Eudice Chong who was a three-time Player of the Year in 2015, 2017, and 2018. Vesely, an All-NESCAC First Team Singles and Second Team Doubles honoree owns a 14-0 record in dual matches from the No. 1 position for Wesleyan and holds an active streak of 18 consecutive sets won.
Diop plays at the No. 2 position for the Mammoths and owns a 16-4 singles record at the No. 2/3 spot and has won 12 doubles matches at the No. 3 position in her first season at Amherst. Diop is the sixth Amherst player to win the Rookie of the Year honor and the first since 2019. Diop helped Amherst advance to the semifinals of the NESCAC Championship for the second straight season and an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Mammoths will host an NCAA Regional May 5-7.
Rigby, an ITA All-American last year, carries on a Tufts tradition as the eighth Jumbo to be named the Senior
Sportswoman of the Year. The Senior
Sportswoman of the Year Award is given annually to the individual who best displayed a high standard of tennis coupled with the highest levels of sportsmanship.
Fried earns NESCAC Coach of the Year honors for the second straight season and the third time in his career. Fried, who is in his 11th year at the helm of the Cardinals, is the fourth coach to win NESCAC Coach of the Year in consecutive seasons and is the only coach in team history to win the award. Since the start of 2019, the Cardinals have won four consecutive NESCAC Championships, sport a 70-5 overall record, and are 31-2 in NESCAC regular season play. The Cardinals were an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament after winning the NESCAC title and will host an NCAA Regional for the second time in program history.
2023 Women's Tennis All-NESCAC Awards
Player of the Year: Nika Vesely, Wesleyan
Rookie of the Year: Sophie Diop, Amherst
Senior Sportswoman of the Year: Tilly Rigby, Tufts
Coach of the Year: Mike Fried, Wesleyan
| All-NESCAC First Team - Singles |
| Name |
School |
Yr |
Hometown |
Previous Honors |
| Leila Epstein |
Wesleyan |
Fy. |
New York, N.Y. |
|
| Yuu Ishikawa |
Williams |
So. |
Los Altos, Calif. |
2022 1st Team Doubles, 2022 2nd Team Singles |
| Katherine Orgielewicz |
Williams |
Sr. |
Larchmont, N.Y. |
|
| Sahara Raman |
Middlebury |
So. |
Acton, Mass. |
|
| Sam Riordan |
Colby |
Jr. |
Madison, Conn. |
|
| Nika Vesely |
Wesleyan |
So. |
Plano, Texas |
|
| All-NESCAC First Team - Doubles |
| Name |
School |
Yr |
Hometown |
Previous Honors |
| Amy Delman |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Great Neck, N.Y. |
2021 1st Team Singles |
| Sahana Raman |
Middlebury |
So. |
Acton, Mass. |
2022 ROY, 2022 1st Team Singles |
| Yuu Ishikawa |
Williams |
So. |
Los Altos, Calif. |
2022 1st Team Doubles |
| Katherine Orgielewicz |
Williams |
Sr. |
Larchmont, N.Y. |
|
| Cara Hung |
Bowdoin |
Fy. |
Aarcadia, Calif. |
|
| Jamilah Karah |
Bowdoin |
So. |
Berkeley, Calif. |
2022 2nd Team Singles |
| All-NESCAC Second Team - Singles |
| Name |
School |
Yr |
Hometown |
Previous Honors |
| Rachel Cranley |
Tufts |
Fy. |
Hertfordshire, England |
|
| Sophie Diop |
Amherst |
Fy. |
Boston, Mass. |
|
| Jamilah Karah |
Bowdoin |
So. |
Berkeley, Calif. |
2022 2nd Team Singles |
| Zoe Kava |
Tufts |
Jr. |
New York, N.Y. |
|
| Nathalie van der Reis |
Middlebury |
So. |
Miami, Fla. |
|
| Sarah Youngberg |
Wesleyan |
Fy. |
Dallas, Texas |
|
| All-NESCAC Second Team - Doubles |
| Name |
School |
Yr |
Hometown |
Previous Honors |
| Amy Cui |
Amherst |
So. |
East Brunswick, N.J. |
2022 2nd Team Singles |
| Katie Hart |
Amherst |
So. |
Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. |
|
| Sydney Landau |
Colby |
Jr. |
Charlotte, N.C. |
|
| Sam Riordan |
Colby |
Jr. |
Madison, Conn. |
|
| Rachel Cranley |
Tufts |
Fy. |
Hertfordshire, England |
|
| Maddie Suk |
Tufts |
Sr. |
Minnetonka, Minn. |
|
| Sasha Gaeth |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Seattle, Wash. |
2022 1st Team Doubles |
| Kristina Yu |
Wesleyan |
Gr. |
New Braunfels, Texas |
2019 1st Team Singles, 2019 1st Team Doubles |
| Caitlyn Ferrante |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Yorktown Heights, N.Y. |
2022 1st Team Singles, 2022 1st Team Doubles |
| Nika Vesely |
Wesleyan |
So. |
Plano, Texas |
|
