Women's Tennis Sweeps ECC Awards

10/20/2008

Women's Tennis Sweeps ECC Awards

Central Islip, NY - Junior Cristina Oliveira (Porte Allegre, Brazil) has been named the East Coast Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Year by the league's coaches, as announced by the ECC office yesterday. Freshman Maria Ortiz (Bogota, Columbia) also claimed recognition by winning the East Coast Conference Women's Tennis Rookie of the Year award and head coach Kela Simunyola was named East Coast Conference Coach of the Year by his peers.

Oliveira went through the competition this season and finished a perfect 9-0 in both singles and doubles play. The junior also was impressive at the ITA Regional Championships back in September at Chestnut Hill College. Oliveira reached the semi-finals of both the singles bracket and the doubles bracket and was named to the ECC All-Conference First Team.

Ortiz finished her rookie season with a spectacular 7-2 record at No. 5 singles and a perfect 9-0 mark at No. 2 doubles. Ortiz was named to the ECC All-Conference Second Team.

Senior Somadi Druker (Capetown, South Africa) joins Oliveira on the ECC All-Conference First Team, while teammate Celise Sesanker (Scarborough, Trinidad & Tobago) landed on the ECC All-Conference Second Team. Druker and Sesanker were both undefeated in dual match play this season. The duo also competed in the 2008 ITA National Small College Championships in Mobile, AL last week, finishing in 7th place.

ECC All-Conference First Team

Tamiris Diversi, Dowling College

Somadi Druker, Concordia College

Cristina Oliveira, Concordia College

Maria Mendes, Queens College

Laura Mocodeanu, Queens College

Alda Ribeiro, Adelphi University 

ECC All-Conference Second Team

Taylor Barber, Queens College

Cristina Hoffman Dummer, Dowling College

Alyssa Morra, Queens College

Maria Ortiz, Concordia College

Celise Sesanker, Concordia College

Carolyn Smith, Adelphi University