FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Suffolk’s Sagyndykova earns third
straight Player of the Year award
WINTHROP, Mass. – For the third time in as many years, Suffolk University senior Aidiana Sagyndykova has been named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women’s Tennis Player of the Year, as voted upon by the league’s head coaches.
The Rams’ No. 1 and All-Conference First Team choice went 14-1 overall on the season, including 9-0 at top flight, 5-0 at second flight and a perfect 6-0 in GNAC play.
Sagyndykova’s junior teammate Valentina Medina was also a First Team selection after going 14-1 at No. 1 and No. 2 Singles for the Rams. Medina also received Second Team Doubles honors with classmate Isabel Rathlev, as the duo went a perfect 9-0 at No. 1 Doubles.
A trio of Johnson & Wales University student-athletes joined Medina and Sagyndykova on First Team Singles, as freshman Nina Cohen, freshman Luiza Silva Simoes and senior Morgan Thompson were all recognized. Thompson and Simoes also received First Team Doubles honors, while Cohen was voted the GNAC Rookie of the Year by the league’s coaches.
For the Wildcats, who captured their first GNAC Championship since 2002 on Sunday, Thompson has paved the way with a 10-1 record at No. 1 Singles, while Cohen is a stellar 11-1 at No. 2 Singles as JWU prepares for the NCAA Tournament next spring. Simoes is 11-1 at No. 3 Singles, and shared a 9-2 mark with Thompson at No. 1 Doubles.
JWU head coach Devin Kitterick was voted the 2016 GNAC Coach of the Year by his peers, as the second-year leader guided the Wildcats to the league crown and a 13-2 overall record thus far in 2016-17.
Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 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 Singles
Nina Cohen, Johnson & Wales (Fr., Guatemala City, Guatemala)
Luiza Silva Simoes, Johnson & Wales (Fr., Cuiaba, Brazil)
Morgan Thompson, Johnson & Wales (Sr., Fargo, ND)
Jessica Schroedl, Simmons (Fr., Staatsburg, NY)
Valentina Medina, Suffolk (Jr., San Andrés, Colombia)
Aidiana Sagyndykova, Suffolk (Sr., Almaty, Kazakstahn)
First Team Doubles
Morgan Thompson / Luiza Silva Simoes, Johnson & Wales
Second Team Singles
Jessica Gautieri, Anna Maria (Sr., North Attleboro, MA)
Lauren Torre, Johnson & Wales (So., New Fairfield, Conn.)
Jenna Jarman, Mount Ida (Fr., Auburn, NY)
Sakinah Abdulsalam, Saint Joseph (Conn.) (Fr., Bristol, CT)
Rebecca Mauri, Saint Joseph (Conn.) (Sr., Meriden, CT)
Nickie Nguygen, Simmons (Fr., Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam)
Second Team Doubles
Valentina Medina / Isabel Rathlev, Suffolk (Jr., Wellesley, Mass.)
Player of the Year – Aidiana Sagyndykova, Suffolk
Rookie of the Year – Nina Cohen, Johnson & Wales
Coach of the Year – Devin Kitterick, Johnson & Wales
Institutional Sportsmanship Award – Mount Ida College
All-Sportsmanship Team
Kelsea Wildman, Albertus Magnus (So., Hamden, Conn.)
Laura Cabral, Anna Maria (Jr., Fall River, MA)
Morgan Thompson, Johnson & Wales (Sr., Fargo, N.D.)
Yuliana Chairez, Mount Ida (S0., Waltham, MA)
Lucy Roberge, Saint Joseph (Conn.) (So., Willington, Conn.)
Olivia Lakes, Simmons (Jr., Dorchester, MA)
Elena Cisneros Garcia, Suffolk (So., Barcelona, Spain)
– #TheGNAC –