BROOKLYN, N.Y. - LIU Brooklyn women's tennis senior Anna Grigoryan was named the Northeast Conference Player of the Week, it was announced by the league office Tuesday afternoon. The announcement came just one day after the release of the championship bracket, revealing that LIU is the No. 1 seed in the tournament for the third year in a row.
Grigoryan capped off the final regular season weekend of her career with her third NEC Player of the Week award of the spring. She led LIU to a 6-1 win over FDU and sweeps of Wagner and Sacred Heart to complete a third straight perfect regular season for the Blackbirds, who are seeded first in the upcoming NEC Tournament. Grigoryan battled from a set down to edge FDU's Marta Ruszczynska, 6-7 (3), 6-2, 10-6, on Tuesday, and picked up straight set wins by identical 6-1, 6-2 scores over Wagner's Vedika Anand & SHU's Olivia Podsiebierski on Friday and Saturday, respectively. She teamed with Ana Leonte for three wins at #1 doubles, dropping just six games in the process. Grigoryan, the two-time defending NEC Player of the Year, won all five of her conference singles matches on the year and is 12-6 overall at the #1 spot.
Two other players were also named Prime Performers for their outstanding play this week. Junior Jessica Brzozowska went 3-0 at #2 singles with wins over FDU's Aleksandra Vorozheikina (7-5, 6-2), Wagner's Fidan Khalilzade (6-3, 6-3) and Sacred Heart (6-0, 6-1). She also went 2-1 at #2 doubles with Sasha Bollweg. And senior Malin Leysen finished a perfect 3-0 at #4 singles in three NEC dual meet wins for the Blackbirds. She downed FDU's Anamaria Vladescu (6-0, 6-0), Wagner's Rina Baynes (5-7, 6-1, 10-6) and Sacred Heart's Lauren Santarsiero (6-3, 6-1). Her partnership with Jennifer Gogova also resulted in a pair of #3 doubles victories.
The Blackbirds will open the 2019 NEC Tournament in the hopes of winning its third-straight NEC crown. Top-seeded LIU will take on #8 seed St. Francis Brooklyn, Thursday, April 18 at 10:00 a.m. at the Mercer County Tennis Center in West Windsor, N.J. Semi finals are slated for Friday morning at 10 a.m., and the championship match will take place Saturday, April 20 at 10:00 a.m.