FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WINTHROP, Mass. – For the second straight year, Suffolk University’s Aidiana Sagyndykova has been selected as the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women’s Tennis Player of the Year, as voted upon by the league’s seven head coaches.
Sagyndykova, a junior hailing from Almaty, Kazakhstan, finished the fall with a 9-1 overall record at first singles for the Rams, including a 5-0 mark in GNAC play.
Sagyndykova’s sophomore teammate Valentina Medina was selected as the 2015 GNAC Rookie of the Year, as the San Andres, Colombia native has posted a 14-0 individual record – 4-0 at top flight and 10-0 at second singles – and 6-0 mark in-conference.
Both student-athletes also received 2015 GNAC First Team All-Conference recognition, while Sagyndykova and senior teammate Rebecca Eshoo earned Second Team Doubles All-Conference honors.
Simmons College head coach Bob Rauseo was voted the 2015 GNAC Coach of the Year by his peers, as he guided the Sharks to their eighth straight GNAC title this past weekend and 11th in the last 12 seasons.
Rauseo’s program saw senior Meg Cokely and junior Theresa Reinhard named to the 2015 First Team, while the pair also earned First Team Doubles honors. Simmons seniors Katie Crowley and Rachael Downey received Second Team honors, as did Simmons junior Ashley Pierce, while the program was also honored with the GNAC Women’s Tennis Institutional Sportsmanship Award.
GNAC Tournament runner-up Johnson & Wales University placed two on the First Team – senior Emily Glass and junior Morgan Thompson – and one on the Second Team in sophomore Taylor Klein.
For the complete All-Conference breakdown and All-Sportsmanship Team selections, please see below.
Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions, 12 associate member institutions, and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.
First Team All-Conference (Singles)
Emily Glass, Johnson & Wales (Sr., Sterling, Conn.)
Morgan Thompson, Johnson & Wales (Jr., Fargo, N.D.)
Meg Cokely, Simmons (Sr., Haverhill, Mass.)
Theresa Reinhard, Simmons (Jr., Canton, Ohio)
Aidiana Sagyndykova, Suffolk (Jr., Almaty, Kazakhstan)
Valentina Medina, Suffolk (So., San Andres, Colombia)
First Team All-Conference (Doubles)
Meg Cokely / Theresa Reinhard, Simmons
Second Team All-Conference (Singles)
Callie Mulcahy, Anna Maria (Jr., Charlton, Mass.)
Taylor Klein, Johnson & Wales (So., Johnson, N.Y.)
Sakinah Abdulsalam, Saint Joseph (Conn.) (Fr., Bristol, Conn.)
Katie Crowley, Simmons (Sr., Reading, Mass.)
Rachael Downey, Simmons (Sr., Groveland, Mass.)
Ashley Pierce, Simmons (Jr., Carver, Mass.)
Second Team All-Conference (Doubles)
Rebecca Eshoo (Sr., Farmington, Conn.) / Aidiana Sagyndykova, Suffolk
Player of the Year - Aidiana Sagyndykova, Suffolk
Rookie of the Year - Valentina Medina, Suffolk
Coach of the Year - Bob Rauseo, Simmons
Institutional Sportsmanship Award - Simmons College
All-Sportsmanship Team
Izzy Sabino, Albertus Magnus (Fr., Cheshire, Conn.)
Freya Sprous, Anna Maria (Sr., Ware, Mass.)
Emily Glass, Johnson & Wales (Sr., Sterling, Conn.)
Yuliana Chairez, Mount Ida (So., Waltham, Mass.)
Serena Sundara, Saint Joseph (Conn.) (Sr., Winsor, Conn.)
Theresa Reinhard, Simmons (Jr., Canton, Ohio)
Rebecca Eshoo, Suffolk (Farmington, Conn.)
– #TheGNAC –