CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. – The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) wrapped up its two-day Women’s Tennis West Division* championships with individual tournament play Friday, which consisted of the top-four seeded student-athletes for first through sixth singles and first through third doubles.

Each flight saw the No. 1 seed take on the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed take on the No. 3 seed. The first-round winners advanced to the championship round, which produced six singles position champions and three doubles position champions, with those student-athletes also making up the All-Conference First Team.  The runners-up from those flights made up the All-Conference Second Team, while the All-Conference Third Team consisted of the winners of each flight from the consolation bracket.  All three All-Conference teams can be viewed on page two below.

The NEAC also announced its individual awards at the conclusion of the tournament, which was held at the Birchwood Tennis Club in Clarks Summit, Pa.  Penn State Berks senior Crystal Hitz (Lebanon, Pa.) was named the NEAC Player of the Year for the second time in her career after sweeping through the first singles tournament.  Hitz, the runner-up Player of the Year last season after winning in 2011-12, defeated Keuka College senior Emily Knapsack (Montgomery, Pa.) 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round before winning by the same scores over Penn State Abington freshman Honora Hegarty (Abington, Pa.) in the championship match.  For the season, Hitz went a perfect 4-0 in NEAC play and 10-5 overall from the No. 1 position, while also going 4-1 in the NEAC and 9-9 overall in first doubles play alongside freshman Nandita Munindra (Edison, N.J.), where the pair also took home All-Conference First Team honors after winning that bracket today.

Not all was lost for Hegarty, however, as she was selected by the conference coaches as the NEAC Rookie of the Year.  Honora compiled a 5-1 NEAC record and was 8-6 overall playing from first singles during the regular season, which helped earn her a NEAC Player of the Week selection.  She also went 4-2 in the NEAC at first doubles alongside sophomore Sheena Philip (Philadelphia, Pa.), with the duo also making the All-Conference Second Team as the runners-up from that flight.

Keuka College head coach Ken Owen was chosen by his peers as the Coach of the Year after an excellent season.  Owen led the Storm to the NEAC West Division title Thursday after entering the four-team tournament as the No. 3 seed with a 4-2 regular season conference record. The two tournament victories gave Owen and the Storm an 8-4 overall record as they will now battle NEAC East Division* champion Colby-Sawyer College next weekend for a shot at an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

The full results from today’s individual tournament can be found here.

The All-Conference Team selections are as follows:

 

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The North Eastern Athletic Conference has twelve NCAA Division III member institutions which The North Eastern Athletic Conference has twelve NCAA Division III member institutions which include: Cazenovia College, College of St. Elizabeth, Gallaudet University, Keuka College, Lancaster Bible College, Pennsylvania State University - Abington, Pennsylvania State University - Berks, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Institute of Technology, SUNY Morrisville State College, Wells College, and Wilson College.  Bryn Athyn College and Pennsylvania College of the Technology will both join the conference as full members in 2014-15.  Associate members are: Cedar Crest College (W Swimming), D'Youville College (M Volleyball), Hilbert College (M Lacrosse & M Volleyball), Medaille College (M&W Lacrosse & M Volleyball), Penn State Altoona (M Volleyball) and Rutgers University - Camden (M Golf & M Tennis).  The North Eastern Athletic Conference has partnered with the North Atlantic Conference in the sports of men's and women's tennis.

*Beginning with the 2010 season, the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has partnered with the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) in the sport of men's and women's tennis.  The NEAC will compete as associate members of the NAC in men's tennis, while the NAC will compete as associate members of the NEAC in women's tennis.  Members from each conference will be divided into an East and West Division for each sport, with each division holding a championship and the two divisional champions then facing off to determine the conference champion. The conference winner for each sport will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships.  

A complete breakdown of the NEAC/NAC tennis partnership is as follows:

Men's Tennis: NEAC members Cazenovia, Keuka, Lancaster Bible, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks and Rutgers-Camden will play as associate members of the NAC in a West Division.  The East Division will consist of NAC members Castleton, Colby-Sawyer, Green Mountain, Johnson State, Lyndon State, MCLA and Thomas.

Women's Tennis: NAC members Castleton, Colby-Sawyer, Johnson State, Lyndon State, MCLA and Thomas will play in the NEAC as associate members in the East Division.  The West Division will consist of NEAC members Cazenovia, College of St. Elizabeth, Keuka, Lancaster Bible, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks and Wells.