CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. – The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has announced its 2018-19 Women’s Tennis All-Conference selections, which were determined during the individual tournament that was held at the Birchwood Tennis Club on Saturday and Sunday. The 2018-19 women’s tennis individual awards were also announced at the conclusion of the women’s tournament on Sunday afternoon.

The individual tournament 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 champions and three doubles champions, with those student-athletes also making up the All-Conference First Team. The runners-up from each flight in the championship round made up the All-Conference Second Team, while the All-Conference Third Team consists of the winners of each flight from the consolation bracket. 

Penn State Berks junior Alyssa Miller (Delta, Pa.) earned NEAC Player of the Year honors after coming into the tournament as the No. 4 seed at No. 1 Singles. In her first match of the day, Miller upset No. 1 seed Greta Strunk (Lebanon, Pa.) from Lancaster Bible to advance to the championship match. Miller dropped the first set, 2-6, before rebounding with a 6-3 win and a 10-5 edge in the tiebreaker to take the opening match. Later in the afternoon against the No. 3 seed Gissel Escalante (Bound Brook, N.J.) from the College of Saint Elizabeth, Miller wrapped up top individual honors and a spot on the All-NEAC First Team with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 final score. In addition to her individual performance, Miller was also recognized on the All-Conference Third Team in No. 1 Doubles.

After a vote by the league’s coaches, Lancaster Bible’s Kayla Hubbard (Palermo, Maine) and Penn State Abington’s Michelle Ly (Shirley, N.Y.) were named NEAC Co-Rookies of the Year. Hubbard received First Team All-Conference honors in No. 1 Doubles and Second Team accolades in No. 3 Singles. The Chargers’ rookie paired with Greta Strunk to earn an 8-6 win in their doubles matchup while advancing to the championship match against Penn State Abington’s Marta Tymchenko (Trevose, Pa.) in singles play. Hubbard went 8-3 in singles and doubles during the regular season. Ly, who was undefeated in regular season doubles matches, won her No. 3 Doubles match yesterday with partner Jenny Vuong to secure a spot on the All-Conference First Team. She also earned All-NEAC Second Team honors after advancing to the No. 6 Singles championship match on Sunday against Lancaster Bible’s Kenedi Berkhimer (Martinsburg, Pa.).

Penn State Abington’s Nigel Hopkinson was named NEAC Coach of the Year after leading the Nittany Lions to their first NEAC Championship. Penn State Abington went 4-0 in the regular season and defeated Lancaster Bible in the NEAC Women’s Tennis Team Final to receive the program’s first automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. In his second season overseeing the program, Hopkinson had seven All-Conference First Team selections and 11 overall.

Complete results from the women’s tournament can be viewed here. The 2018-19 NEAC All-Conference Team can be viewed below.

2018-19 NEAC Women's Tennis All-Conference Team

Flight	Name	Year	Hometown	Institution
First Team
No. 1 Singles	Alyssa Miller	Jr.	Delta, Pa.	Penn State Berks
No. 2 Singles	Michelle Mirjani	So.	Great Neck, N.Y.	Penn State Abington
No. 3 Singles	Marta Tymchenko	So.	Trevose, Pa.	Penn State Abington
No. 4 Singles	Haylee Fishel	So.	Jersey Shore, Pa.	Lancaster Bible
No. 5 Singles	Isabella Blackwell	Jr.	Philadelphia, Pa.	Penn State Abington
No. 6 Singles	Kenedi Berkhimer	Fr.	Martinsburg, Pa.	Lancaster Bible
No. 1 Doubles	Greta Strunk Kayla Hubbard	Jr. Fr.	Lebanon, Pa. Palermo, Maine	Lancaster Bible
No. 2 Doubles	Stephanie Jin Isabella Blackwell	Sr. Jr.	Bluebell, Pa. Philadelphia, Pa.	Penn State Abington
No. 3 Doubles	Michelle Ly Jenny Vuong	Fr. Fr.	Shirley, N.Y. Baltimore, Md.	Penn State Abington
Second Team
No. 1 Singles	Gissel Escalante	So.	Bound Brook, N.J.	College of Saint Elizabeth
No. 2 Singles	Michaela Dearborn	So.	Maytown, Pa.	Lancaster Bible
No. 3 Singles	Kayla Hubbard	Fr.	Palermo, Maine	Lancaster Bible
No. 4 Singles	Nicole Meek	Fr.	Cochranville, Pa.	Penn State Berks
No. 5 Singles	Tessa Caltagirone	Sr.	Reading, Pa.	Penn State Berks
No. 6 Singles	Michelle Ly	Fr.	Shirley, N.Y.	Penn State Abington
No. 1 Doubles	Michelle Mirjani Marta Tymchenko	So. So.	Great Neck, N.Y. Trevose, Pa.	Penn State Abington
No. 2 Doubles	Haylee Fishel Michaela Dearborn	So. So.	Jersey Shore, Pa. Maytown, Pa.	Lancaster Bible
No. 3 Doubles	Sarah Wetzel Kenedi Berkhimer	Sr. Fr.	Reading, Pa. Martinsburg, Pa.	Lancaster Bible
Third Team
No. 1 Singles	Greta Strunk	Jr.	Lebanon, Pa.	Lancaster Bible
No. 2 Singles	Lexi Vidal	Sr.	Mohnton, Pa.	Penn State Berks
No. 3 Singles	Desimy Jimenez	So.	Robesonia, Pa.	Penn State Berks
No. 4 Singles	Jenny Vuong	Fr.	Baltimore, Md.	Penn State Abington
No. 5 Singles	Sarah Wetzel	Sr.	Reading, Pa.	Lancaster Bible
No. 6 Singles	Katie Auman	Fr.	Reading, Pa.	Penn State Berks
No. 1 Doubles	Alyssa Miller Lexi Vidal	Jr. Sr.	Delta, Pa. Mohnton, Pa.	Penn State Berks
No. 2 Doubles	Deismy Jimenez Nicole Meek	So. Fr.	Robesonia, Pa. Cochranville, Pa.	Penn State Berks
No. 3 Doubles	Tessa Caltagirone Anushka Rege	Sr. Fr.	Reading, Pa. Allentown, Pa.	Penn State Berks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has 12 NCAA Division III member institutions which include: Cazenovia College, College of Saint Elizabeth, Gallaudet University, Keuka College, Lancaster Bible College, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Pennsylvania State University – Abington, Pennsylvania State University – Berks, SUNY Cobleskill, Morrisville State, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, and Wells College. Associate members are: Cedar Crest College (W Swimming), D’Youville College (W Lacrosse), Hilbert College (M&W Lacrosse), Medaille College (M&W Lacrosse), Rutgers University – Camden (M Golf), and Wilson College (M Volleyball). The NEAC has partnered with the North Atlantic Conference in the sport of men’s tennis and with the Colonial State Athletic Conference in the sport of Field Hockey. For more information, please visit: www.neacsports.com.