Women's Tennis | 10/25/2022 9:56:19 AM
Nazareth College junior
Aliya Guzman earned her second Empire 8 Player of the Year award, as the league announced its 2022 Women’s Tennis All-Conference awards on Tuesday, October 25.
Phoebe Olson of Hartwick College and
Alina Zabihailo of Alfred University shared Rookie of the Year honors, while Hartwick head coach
Samantha Butcher 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. Empire 8 Champion Hartwick led the way with three student-athletes who earned first team accolades, while a pair of Alfred and Nazareth standouts were honored, St. John Fisher and Hartwick led the way with two student-athletes who earned first team selections. Guzman garnered her third straight first team accolde in both singles and doubles, while teammate
Claire Pullen, Hartwick’s
Jade Killikelly and Utica University senior
Ellen Lyga both earned their second first team accolade. The Alfred duo of
Macy Youngberg and Zabihailo was named to the E8 first team in both singles and doubles.
Guzman, who was named the Empire 8 Player and Rookie of the Year in the Spring of 2021, is the fifth student-athlete to earn multiple Player of the Year accolades in league history. Guzman did not lose a match in singles play against Empire 8 compeitition this fall and led the Golden Flyers to the E8 title match for the third straight season. She has excelled in her first three seasons in the league, with a 23-1 record in singles and 23-1 mark in doubles play against E8 competition, regular season and postseason.
Olson helped lead Hartwick to its first Empire 8 title in program history. Playing at second singles, Olson went 9-2, while playing second doubles and teamed with Lily Vanuga and Ryann Ashby to post a perfect 13-0 record at second doubles. She was named the 2022 Empire 8 Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player after winning both of her doubles matches and clinching championship point with a stirring win in the title match. Olson is the first E8 Women’s Tennis award winner in Hartwick’s program history.
Zabihailo enjoyed a tremendous debut for the Saxons, leading them to the Empire 8 Semifinals. She finished 12-2, while playing at first singles, with just one loss against E8 competition. Zabihailo teamed with Youngberg to finish 10-4 at first doubles. She is the first Alfred student-athlete to earn E8 Rookie of the Year honors since Griffin Currie in 2008.
Butcher was named 2022 Empire 8 Coach of the Year after leading Hartwick to its first Empire 8 Championship in program history. The Hawks went 13-0 overall in 2022, including a 7-0 mark in league play, before defeating Alfred and Nazareth 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 May, 2023. Eight of her student-athletes earned All-Empire 8 accolades in 2021. It is Butcher’s first E8 Women’s Tennis Coach of the Year award.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2022 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.
2022 Empire 8 Women’s Tennis All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Aliya Guzman, Jr., Nazareth
Co-Rookie of the Year: Alina Zabihailo, Fr., Alfred
Co-Rookie of the Year: Phoebe Olson, Fr., Hartwick
Coach of the Year: Samantha Butcher, Hartwick
Empire 8 First Team – Singles
Macy Youngberg, So., Alfred
Alina Zabihailo, Fr., Alfred
Jade Killikelly, Jr., Hartwick
Phoebe Olson, Fr., Hartwick
Aliya Guzman, Jr., Nazareth
Ellen Lyga, Sr., Utica
Empire 8 First Team – Doubles
Macy Youngberg, So./Alina Zabihailo, Jr., Alfred
Damita Bollers, Fr./Jade Killikelly, Jr., Hartwick
Aliya Guzman, Jr./Claire Pullen, So., Nazareth
Empire 8 Second Team – Singles
Damita Bollers, Fr., Hartwick
Lily Vanuga, Fr., Hartwick
Lily Bulkeley, So., Nazareth
Catherine Zak, Fr., Nazareth
Tirzah Spivey, Fr., Russell Sage
Lilly Renzi, Fr., St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Second Team – Doubles
Anna Gwozdz, Jr./Eve Liu, Jr., Alfred
Phoebe Olson, Fr./Lily Vanuga, Fr., Hartwick
Maddi Morrison, Fr./Maggie Van Valkenburgh, Fr., Hartwick
Empire 8 Third Team – Singles
Abigail Call, So., Alfred
Eve Liu, Jr., Alfred
Ryann Ashby, So., Hartwick
Colleen Marsh, So., Hartwick
Claire Pullen, So., Nazareth
Katelyn Spath, Jr., Nazareth
Empire 8 Third Team – Doubles
Chloe Esch, Sr./Elise Swanson, Sr., Houghton
Theresa Hecht, Sr./Scarlett Wagner, Fr., Nazareth
Emma Nuzzi, So./Tirzah Spivey, Fr., Russell Sage
Empire 8 Sportswoman of the Year
Alexis Giordano, So., Alfred
Jade Killikelly, Jr., Hartwick
Gariana Valentin, Sr., Houghton
Ali Richardson, Jr., Medaille
Aliya Guzman, Jr., Nazareth
Maria Inserra, Sr., Russell Sage
Riley Ellis, So., St. John Fisher
Ellen Lyga, Sr., Utica