2008 Women's Tennis All-Conference Teams Announced

Amherst’s Berckes Nets Player of the Year

HADLEY, Mass. - Amherst sophomore Brittany Berckes (Secaucus, N.J.) has been selected by the conference coaches as the 2008 NESCAC Player of the Year. Berckes helped her team win the 2008 NESCAC Women’s Tennis Championship last weekend, the fourth outright NESCAC title and fifth overall for the Lord Jeffs. She is the third Amherst player over the last four years to win the league’s top honor.

Berckes also received All-NESCAC recognition for the second year in a row. A Second Team Singles selection in her 2007 rookie season, Berckes moved up to the First Team Singles in 2008 on the strength of a 14-5 record so far this year, including a 9-1 mark over her last 10 matches. Berckes repeated as a First Team Doubles member with senior partner and three-time All-NESCAC honoree Alicia Menezes (Staten Island, N.Y.). After winning the NCAA doubles title last May, the dynamic duo has combined to go 17-2 during the 2007-08 campaign as part of a 15-1 season for Amherst.

Of the nine individuals on the 2008 NESCAC All-Conference First Team, eight members earned All-NESCAC honors in some form last year. From Williams, junior Cary Gibson (Augusta, Ga.) returned for the third year in a row as a First Team Singles member and added First Team Doubles to her resume, teaming up with senior Annie Schneidman (Sherborn, Mass.). Schneidman also received All-Conference recognition for the third consecutive year, as she was a Second Team Doubles selection in 2007 after being named First Team Doubles in 2006. Sophomore Grace Baljon (Ponte Verda Beach, Fla.) rounds out the Eph contingent on the First Team. Baljon stepped up from last year’s Second Team Singles this spring, boasting a 28-1 record at #2 singles with the lone loss occurring in the final of the ITA New England Regional Championship on Sept. 23.

Also moving up from last year’s Second Team Singles was Bowdoin senior Kristen Raymond (Dover, Mass.), as she has compiled a 23-4 mark during a stellar final season with the Polar Bears. Raymond also received First Team Doubles for the second year in a row along with junior teammate Sarah D’Elia (Fairfield, Conn). The tandem combined to help Bowdoin reach the NCAA Women’s Tennis Tournament for the eighth-straight year.

Middlebury senior Claire Smyser (Houston, Texas) claimed All-NESCAC First Team Singles for the first time in her career after finding a spot on the Second Team in 2007. Smyser, who also earned Second Team Doubles for the second-straight year, repeated as the NESCAC Sportswoman of the Year as well.

Rounding out the 2008 NESCAC All-Conference First Team is Tufts sophomore Meghan McCooey (Cumberland, R.I.). McCooey holds a 19-7 singles record heading into this weekend’s NCAA action, as she had an 11-match winning streak snapped in the semifinals of the 2008 NESCAC Women’s Tennis Championship by Amherst’s Berckes.

Tufts first year Julia Browne (Old Brookville, N.Y.) was chosen as NESCAC Rookie of the Year. Rotating between #1 and #2 singles throughout the spring, Browne has gone 14-6 so far this season, while also posting a 15-5 doubles record to date.

Middlebury head coach Mike Morgan was the choice among the coaches, garnering Coach of the Year honors. In his second season with the Panthers, Morgan recorded a 10-5 overall record and a 4-2 mark against conference opponents.