NEC Release
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn women's tennis team captured all three of the Northeast Conference's major awards, it was announced by the league office Wednesday afternoon. The latest in a long line of Blackbird women's tennis greats, sophomore Anna Grigoryan helped catapult the Blackbirds to their third NEC title last month. The league's head coaches recognized her outstanding season by unanimously selecting Grigoryan as the 2017 NEC Player of the Year. It was a clean sweep of major awards for LIU, with freshman Sasha Bollweg earning NEC Rookie of the Year accolades and Anthony Davison collected NEC Coach of the Year honors in a vote of his peers.
In addition to sweeping the major awards, the Blackbirds had 10 different first or second team All-NEC honorees in singles or doubles, and two All-Rookie honorees.
Fresh off her NEC Rookie of the Year campaign in 2015-16, Grigoryan picked up right where she left off for the Blackbirds. She has amassed a 12-4 record, including a 11-2 mark at the #1 flight. She won five of her six conference matches, and avenged her lone regular season setback to FDU's Shreya Pasricha with a 7-5, 6-2 win over the Knights' star in the NEC title match. She was also within one game of winning both her quarterfinal and semifinal matches when they were halted. Grigoryan's .750 win percentage ranks third in the NEC among players with 10+ singles matches and she has won five of her last six heading into the NCAA Tournament. A two-time NEC Player of the Week this spring, Grigoryan acquired signature wins over Fordham's Carina Ma and Seton Hall's Anna Fajnorova. She also secured first team All-NEC honors at #1 doubles with partner Ana Leonte. Grigoryan, who hails from Moscow, joins Jessica Loose (2006), Selma Babic (2009, 2010) and Sanne Louwers (2014) as LIU Brooklyn student-athletes who have been voted NEC Player of the Year.
Bollweg stepped right into the #2 singles slot for LIU Brooklyn and performed like a veteran from day one. She enters May with a 13-3 record on the year with the only losses coming to players from St. John's, Akron and Columbia. Bollweg went a perfect 6-0 against NEC rivals, including a straight set win in LIU's victory over Fairleigh Dickinson in the conference final. The Aussie native hasn't dropped a match since March, winning six straight in April while claiming a pair of NEC Rookie of the Week awards. Her 11-1 mark in #2 singles matches gave her the highest win percentage (.917) at any single flight in the NEC this season and her .812 overall percentage ranks second on the circuit for those with 10+ matches on the year. Bollweg also earned second team All-NEC doubles recognition, teaming with Malin Leysen at the #2 flight. Following in the footsteps of teammate Anna Grigoryan (2016), she is the fifth LIU Brooklyn player to be named NEC Rookie of the Year, joining Merve Koksal (2004), Ashley Harvey (2006) and Sanne Louwers (2012).
Davison took over an LIU Brooklyn program steeped in tradition, but one that had gone six straight years without an NEC title to its credit. With star player Anna Grigoryan already in the fold, he added a trio of impact freshman in Sasha Bollweg, Jennifer Gogova and Ana Leonte, who combined to post a 33-18 record on the year. The Blackbirds won all five of their conference matches to earn the top seed in the NEC Tournament, then cruised through the quarters and semis before dethroning Fairleigh Dickinson, 4-0, in the title match to bring home the program's third NEC crown. Under Davison's guidance, four players earned first team All-NEC singles honors and all three of his doubles teams achieved all-star status, while Grigoryan and Bollweg were named the NEC Player and Rookie of the Year, respectively. He joins four-time winner Asi Phillips (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010) as NEC Coach of the Year honorees from LIU.
Grigoryan and Bollweg were joined on the first team by freshman Jennifer Gogova and sophomore Malin Leysen. Grigoryan and partner freshman Ana Leonte earned first team All-NEC honors in the No. 1 doubles spot, while Gogova and senior Isabella Wagener earned first-team All-NEC honors in the No. 3 doubles spot. Bollweg and Leysen also earned second team All-NEC honors in doubles in the No. 2 spot, while Bollweg and Gogova were named to the All-Rookie Team.
2017 NEC Women's Tennis Award Winners
NEC Player of the Year
Anna Grigoryan, LIU Brooklyn
NEC Rookie of the Year
Sasha Bollweg, LIU Brooklyn
NEC Coach of the Year
Anthony Davison, LIU Brooklyn
2017 NEC Women's Tennis First Team All-Conference
Singles
#1 Anna Grigoryan, LIU Brooklyn
#2 Sasha Bollweg, LIU Brooklyn
#3 Jennifer Gogova, LIU Brooklyn
#4 Malin Leysen, LIU Brooklyn
#5 Stefanie Arroyo, Bryant
#6 Patricia Eftenoiu, Fairleigh Dickinson
Doubles
#1 Anna Grigoryan/Ana Leonte, LIU Brooklyn
#2 Ashanti Campfield/Nina Luiggi, Bryant
#3 Jennifer Gogova/Isabella Wagener, LIU Brooklyn
2017 NEC Women's Tennis Second Team All-Conference
Singles
#1 Shreya Pasricha, Fairleigh Dickinson
#2 Linnea Sjoberg, Bryant
#3 Tatiana Eftenoiu, Fairleigh Dickinson
#4 Nina Luiggi, Bryant
#5 Liza Rachenko, Fairleigh Dickinson
#6 Ryan Brown, Bryant
Doubles
#1 Shreya Pasricha/Marta Ruszczynska, Fairleigh Dickinson
#2 Sasha Bollweg/Malin Leysen, LIU Brooklyn
#5 Patricia Eftenoiu /Liza Rachenko, Fairleigh Dickinson
2017 NEC Women's All-Rookie Team
#1 Lucia Seigford, Saint Francis U
#1 Alexa Quintanilla, Mount St. Mary's
#2 Sasha Bollweg, LIU Brooklyn
#2 Laura Gutierrez, Saint Francis U
#3 Tatiana Eftenoiu, Fairleigh Dickinson
#3 Jennifer Gogova, LIU Brooklyn