Women's Tennis | 10/27/2023 1:00:03 PM
The Empire 8 Conference is celebrating the league’s 25th Anniversary season in 2023-24, honoring student-athletes, teams, coaches and administrators who have played a key role in the league’s success over the last 25 years. Empire 8 Women’s Tennis has had several individuals and teams excel at the conference, national and regional levels.
Ithaca College was awarded the first E8 Women’s Tennis Championship in 1999 as the top team in the regular season. In 2002, the league held its first Empire 8 Championship Tournament to crown a league championship, as Nazareth University claimed its second five league titles over the first quarter century of play. Six different institutions have claimed E8 titles, as Ithaca has won 15 Empire 8 Championships, while Nazareth has five titles, Alfred two crowns and Hartwick, Stevens and St. John Fisher have each won one league title.
Cristina Nunez of Ithaca and Jessica Bourque of Stevens are the lone three-time Empire 8 Players of the Year. Both Alicia Ballard of Alfred and Haley Kuzak of Ithaca won Rookie of the Year accolades, followed by a pair of Player of the Year honors. Katie Calfee of Alfred, Allison Tepas of Nazareth, Nunez, Bourque and Kuzak were all four-time All-Empire 8 first team selections. Bourque and Lisa Tessitore of Stevens earned ITA All-American honors as a doubles team in 2014.
Former Ithaca head coach Bill Austin led the Bombers to 14 Empire 8 titles and 11 Coach of the Year accolades, while winning 206 matches in his E8 tenure. His Bombers won 12 straight E8 Championships from 2005-2016. Linda Gohagan of St. John Fisher has served as head coach for all 25 Empire 8 seasons to date. Nazareth head coach Paul Waida has led Nazareth to three E8 Championships since 2017.
Below we are honoring members of the Empire 8 Women’s Tennis 25th Anniversary Team. Recipients were chosen by the league office and were named either a Player of the Year, First, Second or Third All-American or earned All-Empire 8 first team honors at least three times in their collegiate careers.
Empire 8 Women’s Tennis 25th Anniversary Team
Dana Bacalla, Stevens
Alicia Ballard, Alfred
Amanda Berg, RIT
Jessica Bourque, Stevens
Jodi Butterfoss, Alfred
Katie Calfee, Alfred
Caitlin Castle, Ithaca
Maddie Cherry, Russell Sage
Allison Friends, Nazareth
Aliya Guzman, Nazareth
Jade Killikelly, Hartwick
Haley Kusak, Ithaca
Rachel Leonard, Nazareth
Agatha Malinkowski, Stevens
Cristina Nunez, Ithaca
Melissa Nunez, Ithaca
Phoebe Olson, Hartwick
Stefanie Parvas, Nazareth
Heidi Rice, Hartwick
Kaili Saffran, St. John Fisher
Katie Silky, Nazareth
Allison Tepas, Nazareth
Lisa Tessitore, Stevens
Ali Young, Ithaca
Founded in 1999, the Empire 8 has developed into one of the premier NCAA Division III athletic conferences, both on the field and in the classroom. The conference has created and implemented innovative and groundbreaking sportsmanship programming over this time, many of our which have received great publicity, including features in USA Today, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The NCAA News, and various athletic profession publications. The Empire 8 has also been highly influential in helping to shape the Division III landscape, passing many legislative proposals along with individuals who hold leadership roles at the national level.
Feature stories and series’ celebrating the league’s 25th anniversary will be highlighted on the conference's website and social media platforms throughout the 2023-24 season, starting in September. The conference will also be using the #E825 and #E8Anniversary hashtags on its Twitter and Instagram platforms as a way for fans to follow along throughout the year.
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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