BOSTON, Mass. – With their 16-1 overall record, and fourth straight America East Conference Championship, the Stony Brook Seawolves add to their successful season by sweeping the major awards for the 2015 season.
For the fourth straight season, Gary Glassman has been voted the America East Coach of the Year. He has led the Seawolves throughout an historic season where Stony Brook became nationally ranked for the first time while combatting a very tough schedule. Glassman has swept the award since Lesley Sheehan’s Boston University left the conference.
Stony Brook’s Elizabeth Tsvetkov was voted the 2015 America East Rookie of the Year. The Seawolf finished with a 6-1 record against America East opponents, including going 2-0 against Binghamton and Albany’s No. 5 singles players in the conference championship. In addition, Tsvetkov competed in doubles with fellow freshman teammate Kristina Vozniak and went 4-0 in America East conference play, with one match going unfinished.
A unanimous selection, Stony Brook senior Polina Movchan caps off her Stony Brook career being named the Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. The Kiev, Ukraine native went 6-0 against America East opponents this year, and that includes an uncompleted match against Albany in the conference championship tilt with Albany where she was up 7-5, 4-2. She played No. 1 singles all year, and had big wins over Brown, St. John’s and Lehigh.
In addition, Movchan was part of Stony Brook’s No. 2 doubles team with freshman Yana Nikolaeva; the duo went undefeated in conference play, including three matches when they didn’t surrender a set.
Stony Brook led all schools in regards to All-Conference connections, having four voted onto First Team singles, one selected to the All-Conference Second Team, and two pairs selected to All-Conference Doubles First Team. Among these honorees there were two unanimous selections: First Team Singles selection Polina Movchan, and the First Team Doubles duo of Louise Badoche and Nadia Smergut.
The Seawolves also have two freshman represented on the first team in Elizabeth Tsvetkov and Kristina Vozniak, along with last year’s Rookie of the Year Nadia Smergut. Accompanying the Stony Brook student-athletes on the first team were Alba Sala of Albany, Katya Medianik of Binghamton, Mariami Dolashvili of UMBC, and Carolina Zanotta of NJIT. Dolashvili was a unanimous selection by the coaches.
Binghamton has four All-Conference Singles selections, including Sara Kohtz and Alexis Tashiro to the Second Team; last year, both juniors were First Team selections. Joining Kohtz and Tashiro on the All-Conference Second Team is teammate Annie Dimuro, Hartford’s Katherine Long, UMBC’s Isabel Aldunate, and Stony Brook’s Adey Osabouhie.
The Retrievers had a unanimous selection on the Doubles First Team in the pairing of Shannon Cleary and Dolashvili. On the All-Conference Doubles Second Team, Cheryl Kukkonen and Alba Sala from Albany, Shea Brodsky and Tashiro from Binghamton, and Long with Skyler Schaar from Hartford.
The awards are determined by votes from the America East tennis coaches, regardless of position.