Sfakianaki earns first team All NAC honors, Gawron second team
2017 NAC All Conference Team- Women's Tennis
North Adams, MA- Two MCLA women's tennis players were honored by the NAC this afternoon as the league released their all conference selections. Trailblazer senior Mariza Sfakianaki earned first team singles honors and paired with junior Sam Gawron to earn second team doubles. Sfakianaki is a repeat selection on the All Conference team while the honor for Gawron is her first.
MCLA's Katherine Grill was selected as the Trailblazer member on the sportsmanship team.
Colby-Sawyer senior Ashley Woodside (Hampden, Maine) has been selected as the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Women's Tennis Player of the Year for the second-consecutive season, while Charger teammates Yashu Yang (Kunming City, China) and Evelyn Miller (Smithfield, R.I.) were named Rookie of the Year and Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year. Castleton head coach Rob Purdy was voted Coach of the Year and eight women's tennis student-athletes were selected to the NAC Sportsmanship Team to headline the 2017 All-Conference announcement.
Joining Woodside, Yang and Miller on the first team singles All-Conference squad were Castleton senior Ciara Bannister (St. Albans, Vt.) and sophomore Megan Nadler (Rutland, Vt.) and MCLA senior Mariza Sfakianaki (Williamstown, Mass.).
First team doubles selections include the Castleton team of Bannister and junior Kirsten Kruk (Clifton Park, N.Y.), the Colby-Sawyer pair of Woodside and Yang, and the Husson duo of junior Charlotte Bednarz (Westport, Mass.) and graduate Sarah Smith (Calais, Maine).
Second team singles honorees include Castleton's Kruk, Colby-Sawyer senior Lauren Blanchard (Agawam, Mass.) and junior Aislinn O'Connor (New Fairfield, Conn.), Husson junior Meridith Blessard (Lincoln, Maine) and Smith, and Thomas senior Olivia Mora (Surry, Maine).
Second team doubles choices include Castleton sophomore partners Alexis Curley (Greenwich, N.Y.) and Emily Miller (Collinsville, Conn.), the Colby-Sawyer tandem of Miller and O'Connor, MCLA's duo of junior Sam Gawron (South Hadley, Mass.) and Sfakianaki and the Thomas pair of junior Irune Arruti Moreno (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain) and Mora.
The NAC Women's Tennis Sportsmanship Team is reserved for those who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior. The honorees are individuals who have positively affected the women's tennis culture and match environment and whose behavior clearly demonstrates sportsmanship and integrity that go beyond the tennis playing rules and etiquette. The following eight individuals have been selected to the 2017 Sportsmanship Team, Castleton's Nadler, Colby-Sawyer's Miller, Green Mountain senior Paige Vlahos (Little Silver, N.J.), Husson senior Emma Fontaine (Manchester, N.H.), Johnson senior Ashley Fogg (White River Junction, Vt.), Lyndon senior Nichole Jones (Lisbon Falls, Maine), MCLA senior Katherine Grill (East Greenbush, N.Y.), and Thomas freshman Lexi Raymond (Dover-Foxcroft, Maine).
2017 NAC Women's Tennis All-Conference Teams
To view a PDF list of the All-Conference team click HERE.
First Team Singles
Ciara Bannister, Senior, Castleton
Evelyn Miller, Senior, Colby-Sawyer
Megan Nadler, Sophomore, Castleton
Mariza Sfakianaki, Senior, MCLA
Ashley Woodside, Senior, Colby-Sawyer
Yashu Yang, Freshman, Colby-Sawyer
First Team Doubles
Colby-Sawyer - Ashley Woodside, Senior / Yashu Yang, Freshman
Castleton - Ciara Bannister, Senior / Kirsten Kruk, Junior
Husson - Charlotte Bednarz, Junior / Sarah Smith, Graduate
Second Team Singles
Lauren Blanchard, Senior, Colby-Sawyer
Meridith Blessard, Junior, Husson
Kirsten Kruk, Junior, Castleton
Olivia Mora, Senior, Thomas
Aislinn O'Connor, Junior, Colby-Sawyer
Sarah Smith, Graduate, Husson
Second Team Doubles
Colby-Sawyer -Evelyn Miller, Senior / Aislinn O'Connor, Junior
MCLA - Sam Gawron, Junior / Mariza Sfakianaki, Senior
Castleton - Alexis Curley, Sophomore / Emily Miller, Sophomore
Thomas - Irune Arruti Moreno, Junior / Olivia Mora, Senior
Player of the Year
Ashley Woodside, Senior, Colby-Sawyer
Rookie of the Year
Yashu Yang, Freshman, Colby-Sawyer
Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year
Evelyn Miller, Senior, Colby-Sawyer
Coach of the Year
Rob Purdy, Eighth Season, Castleton
Sportsmanship Team
Ashley Fogg, Senior, Johnson
Emma Fontaine, Senior, Husson
Katherine Grill, Senior, MCLA
Nichole Jones, Senior, Lyndon
Evelyn Miller, Senior, Colby-Sawyer
Megan Nadler, Sophomore, Castleton
Lexi Raymond, Freshman, Thomas
Paige Vlahos, Senior, Green Mountain