Women's Tennis | 4/6/2021 1:56:23 PM
Nazareth College first-year standout
Aliya Guzman swept Empire 8 Player and Rookie of the Year honors, as the league announced its 2021 Spring Women’s Tennis All-Conference awards on Tuesday, April 6. Nazareth head coach
Paul Waida was named Coach of the Year. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
For a complete list of all-conference members and award winners, please see below. Nazareth, St. John Fisher and Utica led the way with three student-athletes who earned first team selections. Guzman in addition to teammate
Brooke Murphy, along with the Utica duo of first-year student-athletes
Ellen Collie and
Ellen Lyga garnered first honors in both singles and doubles.
Guzman burst onto the Empire 8 scene by finishing a perfect 8-0 at first singles and 8-0 at first doubles with Murphy in leading the Golden Flyers to the 2021 Empire 8 Spring Championship. During the regular season, Guzman only allowed her opponents to win six total games and won both of her postseason matches in dominant fashion. Guzman and Murphy won their eight doubles matches by a combined 64-20. Guzman was also the Empire 8 Women’s Tennis Player of the Week on March 8.
Guzman becomes the fourth player in Empire 8 Women’s Tennis history to be named Player and Rookie of the Year in the same season, joining Agatha Malinkowski (Stevens – 2018), Cristina Nunez (Ithaca – 2009) and Caitlin Castle (Ithaca – 2005).
Waida was named 2021 Empire 8 Coach of the Year after leading Nazareth to its fourth Empire 8 Championship and first since 2017 this spring. The Golden Flyers went 8-0 overall, including a 6-0 mark in league play, before defeating Houghton and St. John Fisher in the Empire 8 Tournament to claim the title and earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Championship, which takes place in late May. Seven of his student-athletes earned All-Empire 8 accolades in 2021. It is Waida’a second Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year award, as he was also honored in 2017.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2021 Spring 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.
2021 Empire 8 Spring Women’s Tennis Award Winners
Player of the Year: Aliya Guzman, Fr., Nazareth
Rookie of the Year: Aliya Guzman, Fr., Nazareth
Coach of the Year: Paul Waida, Nazareth
Empire 8 First Team – Singles
Aliya Guzman, Fr., Nazareth
Brooke Murphy, Sr. Nazareth
Marissa Towers, Sr., Nazareth
Valerie Morgans, Sr., St. John Fisher
Ellen Collie, Fr., Utica
Ellen Lyga, Fr., Utica
Morgan Willis, So., Utica
Empire 8 First Team – Doubles
Aliya Guzman, Fr./Brooke Murphy, Jr., Nazareth
Mikayla Santulli, Jr./Kathryn Strait, Fr., St. John Fisher
Ellen Collie, Fr./Ellen Lyga, Fr., Utica
Empire 8 Second Team – Singles
Jade Killikelly, Fr., Hartwick
Elise Swanson, So., Houghton
Caroline Keegan, Jr., Nazareth
Jackie Chouinard, Jr., St. John Fisher
Maddie Galvin, Fr., St. John Fisher
Kathryn Strait, Fr., St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Second Team – Doubles
Marissa Towers, Sr./Theresa Hecht, So., Nazareth
Caroline Keegan, Jr./Hannah Chesner, Jr., Nazareth
Valerie Morgans, Sr./Jackie Chouinard, Jr., St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Third Team – Singles
Chloe Esch, So., Houghton
Erin Haley, Jr., Houghton
Theresa Hecht, So., Nazareth
Rachel Cook, Jr., Nazareth
Mikayla Santulli, Jr., St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Third Team – Doubles
Victoria Wilson, Jr./Jade Killikelly, Fr., Hartwick
Elise Swanson, So./Erin Haley, Jr., Houghton
Veronika Jurczuk, Sr./Eliz Schneider, Jr., St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Sportswoman of the Year
Cassondra Mark, Sr., Alfred
Victoria Wilson, Jr., Hartwick
Sophia Yescott, Jr., Houghton
Caroline Keegan, Jr., Nazareth
Claire Connolly, Jr., Russell Sage
Veronika Jurczuk, Sr., St. John Fisher
Ellen Collie, Fr., Utica
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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