Women's Tennis | 11/7/2019 12:16:51 PM
St. John Fisher’s historic 2019 women’s tennis season has continued, as the Cardinals recorded a sweep of all three major awards as the league announced its 2019 Women’s Tennis All-Conference awards on Thursday, Nov. 7. Senior
Kaili Saffran was named the Empire 8 Player and Rookie of the Year, while first-year standout
Cydney Bell was named the Rookie of the Year and head coach
Linda Gohagan was named Coach of the Year. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.
For a complete list of all-conference members and award winners, please see below. Houghton led the way with three student-athletes who earned first team selections, while Nazareth and Fisher had two apiece and Sage and Alfred, one each. Saffran, along with both
Maelah Nadeau and
Brooke Murphy of Nazareth garnered first honors in both singles and doubles.
2019 EMPIRE 8 PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Kaili Saffran, St. John Fisher
Saffran helped lead the Cardinals to their first Empire 8 title in program history, as she posted a perfect 10-0 mark at No. 1 singles this fall. The senior also teamed with
Cassidy Bell to form St. John Fisher’s No. 1 doubles team which went 7-5 during the fall season and 4-2 in league play to garner first team accolades. Saffran, who was also named Empire 8 Rookie of the Year in 2017, is a three-time All-E8 first team selection in singles and two-time first team doubles honoree.
2019 EMPIRE 8 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Cydney Bell, St. John Fisher
Bell enjoyed a tremendous debut for the Cardinals, finishing 5-1 in Empire 8 singles play, while competing at both the third and fourth positions to earn All-Empire 8 second team singles honors. Bell helped lead St. John Fisher to a perfect regular season in league play and its first Empire 8 title.
2019 EMPIRE 8 COACH OF THE YEAR – Linda Gohagan, St. John Fisher
Gohagan was named 2019 Empire 8 Coach of the Year after leading St. John Fisher to its first Empire 8 Championship this fall. The Cardinals went 9-3 overall, including a 6-0 mark in league play, before recording consecutive shutouts in the Empire 8 Tournament to claim their first title. Seven of her student-athletes earned All-Empire 8 accolades in 2019. The Cardinals earned an automatic berth in next spring's NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship field for the first time in program history. It is Gohagan’s second Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year award, as she was also honored in 2002.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2019 Women's Tennis Sportswoman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference 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.
Player of the Year: Kaili Saffran, Sr., St. John Fisher
Rookie of the Year: Cydney Bell, Fr., St. John Fisher
Coach of the Year: Linda Gohagan, St. John Fisher
Empire 8 First Team – Singles
Lauren Boshart, Jr., Alfred
Erin Haley, So., Houghton
Abbey Clobridge, Sr., Sage
Brooke Murphy, Jr. Nazareth
Maelah Nadeau, Sr., Nazareth
Kaili Saffran, Sr., St. John Fisher
Empire 8 First Team – Doubles
Elise Swanson, Fr./Catie Moore, Sr., Houghton
Maelah Nadeau, Sr./Brooke Murphy, Jr., Nazareth
Kaili Saffran, Sr./Cassidy Bell, Jr., St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Second Team – Singles
Alicia Cline, Sr., Houghton
Elise Swanson, Fr., Houghton
Lauren Carr, So., Nazareth
Sadie Dunne, Sr., Sage
Cassidy Bell, Jr., St. John Fisher
Cydney Bell, Fr., St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Second Team – Doubles
Marissa Towers, Jr./Theresa Hecht, Fr., Nazareth
Taylor Gillispie, So./Becca Jackson, Sr., Sage
Mikayla Santulli, So./Zuzanna Pociecha, Gr., St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Honorable Mention – Singles
Kaitlin Banks, So., Sage
Caroline Breitweiser, So., Nazareth
Marissa Towers, Jr., Nazareth
Morgan Willis, Fr., Utica
Empire 8 Honorable Mention – Doubles
Lauren Carr, So./Hannah Chesner, So., Nazareth
Alison Trudo, Sr./Molly Cochrane, Jr., Sage
Valerie Morgans, So./Jackie Chouinard, So., St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Sportswoman of the Year
Lauren Boshart, Jr., Alfred
Victoria Wilson, So., Hartwick
Maddison Soth, So., Houghton
Maelah Nadeau, Sr., Nazareth
Abbey Clobridge, Sr., Sage
Zuzanna Pociecha, Gr., St. John Fisher
Madeline McIlnay, Sr., Utica