Pelaez of Trinity Repeats as Player of the Year

HADLEY, Mass. – For the second year in a row, Trinity College sophomore Catalina Pelaez (Bogota, Columbia) has been named NESCAC Player of the Year, as determined by the conference coaches. Pelaez, who has competed at the number-one spot in the Bantams' ladder since her arrival last season, owns a 10-3 record heading into this weekend's CSA national championship.

In addition to being named Player of the Year, the 2011 NESCAC Rookie of the Year also landed on the All-NESCAC First Team for the second-straight winter. Pelaez was accompanied from Trinity on the conference's top team by classmate Alicia Rodriguez (San Luis Potosi, Mexico) and first year player Natalie Babjukova (Prague, Czech Republic), both of whom were honored as All-NESCAC for the first time in their careers. The trio helped the Bantams secure the NESCAC Women's Squash Championship earlier this month, the program's sixth conference crown. Earlier this week, Rodriguez (9-4) was named as one of three finalists for the Richey Award, which is given annually to the women's college squash player who best exemplifies the ideals of squash in her love of and devotion to the game, her strong sense of fairness, and her excellence of play and leadership. Babjukova holds an 11-4 record in her first campaign with Trinity.

From Williams on the All-Conference First Team were senior Courtney Bogle (Bronxville, N.Y.) and junior Alli Rubin (Boston, Mass.). Bogle (11-10) earned her fourth tour on the First Team, a rare accomplishment across all conference sports. Rubin (12-11) was selected by the coaches for All-NESCAC honors for the first time.

The only other squad to have multiple representatives on the First Team was Middlebury, as senior Elena Laird (Cambridge, Mass.) and sophomore Abby Jenkis (Latham, N.Y.) both returned from the 2011 First Team. Laird enters the weekend at 11-8 while Jenkins has gone 12-8 for the Panthers this season.

Colby junior Kate Pistel (Amherst, Mass.) garnered All-NESCAC recognition for the third consecutive year. Pistel, one of five individuals on this year's First Team to earn the honor last winter, holds a 15-6 mark for the Mules.

The final two spots on the All-Conference First Team were bestowed upon Wesleyan sophomore Mary Foster (Wallingford, Conn.) and Bates first year Nessrine Ariffin (Penang, Malaysia). A Second Team member during her first season with the Cardinals, Foster is 12-12 this winter. Ariffin, who was also recognized as the NESCAC Rookie of the Year, has posted an impressive 18-2 mark for the Bobcats.

NESCAC Coach of the Year went to Colby's Sakhi Khan. Khan, a 1985 graduate of Tufts and former All-American, serves as the chair of the conference coaches this season. While it is the first time that Khan has received the league's coaching honor, he has previously been recognized by his peers nationally as the coach of the year for sportsmanship, first in 2006-07 and again in 2009-10.