2015 All-Conference Teams
Ithaca College added to its Empire 8 women's tennis championship with a trio of top honors amongst the 2015 Women's Tennis All-Conference teams. The Bombers'
Haley Kusak was named the Player of the Year while
McKinleigh Lair garnered Rookie of the Year honors. Head coach
Bill Austin picked up his tenth coach of the year award.
Ithaca capped off a near perfect season with its 11th straight Empire 8 Championship and automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. Throughout the regular season the Bomber’s claimed 80 of a possible 81 conference games. Only St. John Fisher took a match off of the Bombers, during an 8-1 match on Sept. 12.
The Bombers recorded seven sweeps in conference play, including Utica (Sept. 5), Nazareth (Sept. 14), Stevens (Sept. 19), Elmira (Sept. 22), Houghton (Sept. 30), Alfred (Oct. 3) and Hartwick (Oct. 4).
As the top seed in the conference tournament, Ithaca continued its dominance with a 9-0 semifinal win and a 5-1 score in the title match.
Kusak recorded a perfect record in singles play during the fall season with a 10-0 mark at first singles, while Lair went a combined 9-0 in singles play including an 8-0 mark at second singles. The duo combined at first doubles and went unbeaten with a 7-0 record.
It is the fourth time that Ithaca has swept the end of season awards. Kusak’s honor is the fifth for a Bomber (2005, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015) and Lair’s honor is the sixth time a Bomber Rookie has been awarded (2005, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2015).
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2015 Women’s Tennis Sportswoman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.