Ithaca College added to its Empire 8 women's tennis championship with a trio of top honors amongst the 2016 Women's Tennis All-Conference teams. Elmira College and Stevens Institute of Technology also took home an individual yearly award.
The Bombers'
Haley Kusak was repeated as the Player of the while Ithaca’s
Brianna Ruback and Elmira’s
Tilila El Yazidi shared Rookie of the Year honors. Ithaca head coach
Bill Austin and Stevens Institute of Technology
Steve Gachko were named co-Coaches of the year.
Ithaca capped off a near perfect season with its 12th straight Empire 8 Championship and automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
Throughout the regular season the Bomber’s claimed 70 of a possible 72 conference games. Only Stevens was able to take a match off of the Bombers, during a 7-2 match on Sept. 4 to start the season.
Kusak recorded a 13-2 record in singles play including a perfect 8-0 mark against conference opponents in dual matches. She was equally impressive with partner Caroline Dunn as they went 11-2 in doubles action; 8-0 in dual matches and 3-2 in tournament play. Kusack is the fourth E8 tennis athlete to earn Player of the Year honors twice and it marks the sixth time a Bomber has been voted the top player.
Ruback went a combined 12-2 in regular season singles and tournament play this fall including a 8-0 mark against Empire 8 foes at second doubles. In dual match doubles action, Ruback went 7-2 with partner Taylor Ginestro at second doubles. It is the seventh time a Bomber rookie has been awarded (2005, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2015).
El Yazidi is the second Rookie of the Year from Elmira College, joining the previous recipient Kim Salkin (2014). She went 7-1 in the conference at first singles with her only loss coming against Kusak. Overall she was 12-2 at first singles, setting a school record for the most singles wins in a season. El Yazidi partnered with Megan Fitzgerald at first doubles for a 12-2 overall mark and 7-1 E8 record. The 24 combined wins between singles and doubles set the program record for most wins in a season.
Austin was named the Coach of the Year for the 11th time as he led the Bombers to its 12th consecutive Empire 8 title and earned automatic qualification into the 201-17 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championships. Ithaca concluded the fall season with a 10-0 overall record and a 8-0 mark in the Empire 8 regular season. Ithaca qualified to the E8 tournament as the top-seed and defeated Hartwick, 5-0, in the semifinals and they went on to a 5-2 victory over Stevens in the championship match.
Gachko earned the Coach of the Year award for the first time after he guided his team to a 9-2 overall record. Stevens won seven conference matches, including three different shutouts, and claimed 57 of 72 E8 games. The Ducks 7-1 mark in the conference earned them the second seed in the E8 Tournament, where they advanced to the final for the third straight time and seventh time in the last eight tournaments.
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2016 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.
2016 Empire 8 Women’s Tennis All-Conference
Player of the Year: Haley Kusak, Ithaca College
Co-Rookie of the Year: Tilila El Yazidi, Elmira College
Co-Rookie of the Year: Brianna Ruback, Ithaca College
Co-Coach of the Year: Bill Austin, Ithaca College
Co-Coach of the Year: Steve Gachko, Stevens Institute of Technology