DUDLEY, Mass. – The Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) women's tennis head coaches elected junior captain
Anna Dyakiv (Amsterdam, N.Y.) as the league's Player of the Year for the third time while Head Women's Tennis Coach
Paul Brower (Auburn, Mass.) was tabbed to repeat as Coach of the Year Tuesday morning.
Senior captains
Alex Cifone (Bristol, Conn.) and
Jillian McQuiggan (Weymouth, Mass.), as well as sophomore
Lindsay Benoit (Holden, Mass.), were also honored by the conference coaches.
Dyakiv adds a third All-CCC First Team singles nod and an All-CCC Second Team doubles selection to her resume. Despite being sidelined with an injury for part of the year, Dyakiv went 4-0 in singles and 5-0 in doubles to help the Bison remain undefeated in conference play for the third-straight year. In the final week of the regular season, Dyakiv posted a 3-0 ledger in both singles and doubles play and teamed with McQuiggan to clinch a key match at Endicott. In three years, Dyakiv has amassed a 21-0 singles and a 22-0 doubles record in CCC regular season competition.
“It is great to see Anna recognized as the CCC player of the year once again. She has battled through a variety of challenges, and come up with some tremendous wins down the stretch for us,” stated Brower.
Benoit garners first team singles and doubles accolades for the second-straight season. The sophomore was a perfect 7-0 in singles which included a 4-0 stint at the No. 1 spot in Dyakiv's absence. The Bison debuted a lineup change at the top doubles flight for the second conference match of the campaign as Benoit, 7-1 overall, teamed with Cifone. The top pairing completed the conference slate 6-1 with the lone defeat coming at Endicott. In addition to collecting her 25th career singles victory at Salve Regina, Benoit is 14-0 in CCC matches.
Cifone picked up first team doubles praises and repeated as a second team singles honoree. The senior went 7-1 overall and 6-1 in conference action following her elevation to the No. 1 doubles team. In the season finale against Eastern Nazarene, Cifone picked up her 50th career doubles triumph. Individually, the co-captain sported a 6-1 record and posted her 45th career victory in a 6-3 win over Roger Williams.
An All-CCC Second Team doubles and Honorable Mention singles selection, McQuiggan enjoyed an 8-0 mark in doubles play – including come-from-behind victories against Curry and Western New England, as well as a hand in the decisive fifth point at Endicott. In singles matches, the senior was 5-2 including a 4-0 streak during the middle of the season. McQuiggan's singles win at Salve Regina was her 20th in conference play while she claimed her 30th CCC doubles victory against the Lions.
“I excited to see Lindsay, Alex, and Jill recognized by the conference for their success,” added Brower. “They have all been fixtures in the heart of our lineup and each of them has been asked to step up to higher positions throughout the season. We would also be remiss not to recognize
Megan Woodruff for her undefeated season in conference and
Katie Malloy for her efforts the past few weeks.”
Brower, the three time CCC Women's Tennis Coach of the Year, has guided the squad to at least a share of the CCC regular season title each of the past four seasons – including three outright crowns in as many years. His lineup has won 30 consecutive conference matches and boasts an overall mark of 37-1 in conference play over a four-year span.
Top-seeded Nichols (11-4, 8-0 CCC) hosts either fourth-seeded Curry or fifth-seeded Western New England on Wednesday, October 17 at 2:00 p.m. in the CCC Women's Tennis Championship semifinals at Francis W. Robinson courts.
