SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Oct. 13) – The Nichols College women’s tennis team landed five individuals on the 2009 The Commonwealth Coast Conference 2009 All-TCCC Women’s Tennis Team, it was announced today by Commissioner Gregg M. Kaye. In addition, the Bison were recipients of three of the four major individual awards, as first year Jillian McQuiggan (Weymouth, Mass.) was named the Rookie of the Year, senior Molly McGuire (E. Sandwich, Mass.) was tabbed the Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and Head Coach Paul Brower took home Coach of the Year honors.
Voting for the All-TCCC team and each of the major awards was conducted among TCCC women’s tennis coaches.
Also earning All-Conference honors were Alexandra Cifone (Bristol, Conn.), who was named to the Honorable Mention Singles Team, and the doubles tandem of Megan Woodruff (Morris, Conn.) and Maria Balabanova (Moscow, Russia), who earned a nod at Honorable Mention Doubles.
McQuiggan has been a fabulous addition to the Nichols College lineup. Playing exclusively at the number one singles spot, the newcomer enters TCCC tournament play sporting a 6-4 record against TCCC opponents and a 9-4 tally against all competition. She teamed with McGuire to sport a sparkling 8-1 conference record at first doubles, the top mark by any tandem at the No. 1 position in TCCC-only play this season. The TCCC also honored McQuiggan with a spot on the First Team Singles and First Team Doubles.
McGuire is closing out a distinguished career for the Bison. On the court, she is a four-time All-TCCC selection and 2006 CCC Rookie of the Year who holds the program records of 50 singles victories and 36 doubles wins. Academically, McGuire sports a 3.8 GPA with a major in marketing and a minor in sport management. The 4+1 MBA candidate has already completed her minor and has begun graduate work during her senior year. She twice recorded 14 singles victories in a season – a program best - and holds the program’s best career singles winning percentage at .847 (50-9). McGuire was also honored with a spot on the All-TCCC Second Team Singles this season.
Brower, in his fifth season guiding both the women’s and men’s programs at Nichols, has directed the Bison women to a 14-1 overall record in 2009, including a 10-1 mark in conference play, entering the 2009 TCCC Championship. The 14 victories marks a program record, while the 10-1 TCCC record allowed Nichols to tie for the top position in the regular season standings for the first time in program history, after being selected to finish fifth in the TCCC coaches’ preseason poll. During his five-year tenure, the Brower-led Bison have experienced an increase in overall victories and TCCC victories every single year and are making their fourth consecutive trip to the TCCC quarterfinals.
Cifone boasted a 10-2 mark primarily at the third singles flight in her debut season with the Bison, with one win at the top spot. She went 7-2 over the last 10 matches of the season and went 8-2 in TCCC matches on the year to earn her spot at Honorable Mention Singles.
Woodruff and Balabanova enter postseason play with a 9-2 record and sport a 7-2 TCCC mark at the third doubles spot. The pair outscored foes, 83-37, on the year, and won their first five matches of the season.
Second-seeded Nichols hosts the seventh seed, Gordon (5-8, 5-6), Wednesday at 2 p.m. in the TCCC Quarterfinals at Francis W. Robinson Courts.
Rookie of the Year: Jillian McQuiggan
Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Molly McGuire
First Team Singles: Jillian McQuiggan.
First Team Doubles: Molly McGuire/Jillian McQuiggan
Second Team Singles: Molly McGuire
Honorable Mention Singles: Alexandra Cifone
Honorable Mention Doubles: Megan Woodruff/Maria Balabanova
Coach of the Year: Paul Brower