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Somerset, NJ -- Fairleigh Dickinson senior Nicole Chis (Highland Park, NJ/Highland Park) played her best tennis of the year when it mattered most in leading the Knights to their fourth Northeast Conference women’s tennis championship in five years last month. The league’s head coaches took notice and named Chis the 2016 NEC Player of the Year. LIU Brooklyn freshman Anna Grigoryan (Moscow, Russia) was selected the NEC Rookie of the Year and Bryant’s Barbara Cilli repeated as NEC Coach of the Year in a vote of her peers.
 
A former NEC Rookie of the Year and two-time second team All-NEC performer, Chis won all three of her NEC Tournament matches in dominating fashion, dropping a combined 10 games over six sets in FDU’s run to the league championship. In the semifinals, she avenged her lone NEC setback to Sacred Heart’s Katie DeRienzo with a 6-3, 6-1 win, then beat the 2015 NEC Player of the Year Ryan Brown of Bryant, 6-3, 6-0, in the title match. The two-time NEC Player of the Week heads into the NCAA Tournament with a 13-9 overall record and a 9-5 mark at the #1 flight. She finished 4-1 in NEC play. Chis, a Highland Park, NJ product who has amassed 54 singles wins over the course of her FDU career, also earned first team All-NEC accolades at #1 doubles, the third doubles honor of her career. Chis joined Julija Korsunova (2007) and Anna Rapoport (2012 and 2013) as FDU student-athletes who have been named NEC Player of the Year.
 
Grigoryan appears to be the latest in a long line of #1 flight stars that LIU Brooklyn has produced. The Moscow native posted a 3-1 record against NEC competition, with her only setback coming in a three-set marathon to SHU senior standout Katie DeRienzo. She also posted straight set wins against opponents from Seton Hall and Bryant, and split sets against Yale in an unfinished match. Grigoryan finished the year on a three-match win streak and was named the NEC Player and Rookie of the Week on April 5. She was the fourth LIU Brooklyn player to earn NEC Rookie of the Year honors, joining Merve Koksal (2004), Ashley Harvey (2006) and Sanne Louwers (2012).
 
The Bryant program has grown into an NEC power under Cilli’s guidance. The Bulldogs won their first NEC championship in 2015, then were awarded the top seed in the 2016 NEC Tournament for the first time after posting a 4-0 record in conference play this past spring. Bryant stormed through the quarters and semis before dropping a 4-3 decision to Fairleigh Dickinson in an epic NEC title match. Under Cilli, all three doubles teams and five-of-six singles players for Bryant earned All-NEC recognition for the second straight season. Cilli is now one of five coaches in league history to earn back-to-back NEC Coach of the Year honors.
 
Along with Nicole Chis (Highland Park, NJ/Highland Park) at #1 singles, earning first team All-NEC accolades for FDU were teammates Liza Rachenko (Kharkiv, Ukraine/Private Boiko School) at #3 singles and Shreya Pasricha (New Delhi, India/Amity International School) at #4 singles. Bryant landed three first team all-stars in Linnea Sjoberg (Stockholms Ian, Sweden) (#2), Ashanti Campfield (Stratford, CT/Bunnell) (#5) and Stefanie Arroyo (Gurabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Catolico Notre Dame) (#6).
 
A second team All-NEC performer last year as a freshman, Sjoberg won all five of her NEC matches and went 8-4 overall at the #2 spot in 2015-16. She ended her season on a four-match win streak.
 
The lone freshman to earn All-NEC singles honors, Rachenko was the last women standing at the NEC Tournament last month, outlasting Bryant’s Marion Bouillin in three sets in the deciding match. She went 2-1 against league competitors and finished with a 3-2 mark at the #3 flight.
 
Pasricha claimed her second All-NEC honor, adding to the second team recognition she received as a freshman back in 2014.  She was dominant at the #4 flight this past season, posting an NEC-high 18 wins against just eight defeats. She enters NCAA Tournament play on a six-match win streak, including three straight set victories in the NEC tourney. Pasricha also finished a perfect 5-0 in league outings and was tabbed the NEC Player of the Week on March 17.
 
In just two years, Campfield has distinguished herself at the #5 flight for the Bulldogs. The 2015 NEC Rookie of the Year claimed her second straight first team nod after ending the year with a 13-7 overall mark. Campfield, who led Bryant in victories, went 6-1 in the NEC and 8-2 at the #5 position. In two years, she has posted an 11-1 mark versus NEC rivals.
 
Arroyo earned a starting spot in her sophomore season and did not disappoint for Bryant. She finished a perfect 4-0 within the conference - including three wins in the NEC Tournament - and 7-1 out of the #6 spot. Arroyo was 10-4 overall and her .714 win percentage is currently the second-highest in the conference. She wrapped her campaign with five straight victories.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson claimed two of the three first team All-NEC doubles awards. Senior Gisela Castany (Barcelona, Spain) and junior Shreya Pasricha (New Delhi, India/Amity International School) were the #1 flight honorees, and senior Nicole Chis (Highland Park, NJ/Highland Park) and sophomore Katarina Pavlovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Stednja Skola Dositej) were recognized at the #2 flight. Bryant sophomores Linnea Sjoberg (Stockholms Ian, Sweden) and Stefanie Arroyo (Gurabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Catolico Notre Dame) were the #3 flight award winners.
 
Castany and Pasricha combined to post an 8-4 mark on the year and were 3-1 at the #1 spot in NEC matches. The tandem won five of their last six matches to end the year, including a pair of 6-0 wins in the NEC Tournament. Castany was previously honored in #1 doubles back in 2014.
 
Chis and Pavlovic proved to be a winning combination for the Knights, going 4-1 in the NEC and 8-4 overall at the #2 flight. The duo won a pair of NEC Tournament matches. This marked the third first team All-NEC doubles honor for Chis.
 
Sjoberg and Arroyo were nearly unbeatable at the #3 flight, finishing on an eight-match win streak to improve to 11-2 on the year. The two underclassmen won all six of their NEC matches, including three in the conference tournament where they just dropped one game in total. Sjoberg collected first team All-NEC plaudits at #3 doubles last season as well.
 
Bryant and FDU each landed a pair of honorees on the All-NEC singles second team. The Bulldogs were represented at the #3 and #4 spots by junior Marion Bouillin (San Diego, CA/Torrey Pines) and sophomore Nina Luiggi (Nottingham, England), respectively. The award winners for the Knights were Gisela Castany (Barcelona, Spain) at #2 singles and Katarina Pavlovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Stednja Skola Dositej) at #5 singles. Sacred Heart senior Katie DeRienzo (Douglaston, NY/St. Francis Prep) took home #1 singles honors and Saint Francis U senior Danielle Gryckiewicz (Calgary, Alberta/Calgary Academy) was tabbed a #6 flight all-star.
 
A two-time NEC Player of the Month, DeRienzo ranked second in the conference in wins (17) and third in winning percentage (.708). She finished 15-3 in #1 flight play and was 4-1 against NEC rivals. The two-time All-NEC second teamer ended her career with 72 singles wins and a 39-12 record at the #1 position.
 
Castany, who was an All-NEC first team pick at #4 singles as a sophomore, worked her way up to the #2 spot in her senior season. She won three-of-four NEC matches on the year and eight matches in total.
 
Bouillin earned her second straight second team honor after finishing 8-6 on the year for the Bulldogs. She posted a 5-1 mark both at #3 singles and in league play, and won five of her last six matches.
 
Luiggi ranked second on Bryant with 11 victories and won seven of her last nine matches to close out the year. The Nottingham, England native finished 4-2 versus NEC competition competing at the #4 flight.
 
Pavlovic capped her year with a terrific NEC Tournament run that lifted her record to 4-1 in NEC play and 10-9 overall entering the NCAA Tournament. She won three postseason matches in straight sets at the #5 position and is riding a four-match win streak.
 
This marks the second straight second team honor for Gryckiewicz, who posted an 8-3 record at the #6 flight and tied for the Red Flash lead with 13 victories on the year. Gryckiewicz also went 3-1 against conference rivals.
 
A pair of Bryant teams were chosen second team All-NEC in doubles. Juniors Ryan Brown (Austin, TX/Lake Travis) and Marion Bouillin (San Diego, CA/Torrey Pines) were recognized at #1 doubles, and were joined by sophomores Nina Luiggi (Nottingham, England) and Ashanti Campfield (Stratford, CT/Bunnell) at the #2 spot. Sacred Heart freshman Olivia Podsiebierski (Linden, NJ/Linden) and sophomore Claudia Ruiz (Glen Head, NY/North Shore) earned #3 flight doubles honors.
 
This marks the second straight second team doubles award for Brown and Bouillin. The #1 flight tandem compiled a 7-6 record, including a 3-2 mark in NEC play. Brown has now been honored three times for her doubles play, having also been named to the second team with Rosie Bird back in 2014.
 
Luiggi and Campfield won a league-best 12 doubles matches in 2015-16 and were 4-2 in #2 flight NEC matches. Campfield was also a first team All-NEC doubles award winner as a freshman last season.
 
Podsiebierski and Ruiz won five-of-six matches to close out their first year as a #3 doubles pairing. The duo finished with a 7-3 mark, including 3-1 versus NEC teams.
 
The NEC All-Rookie team is headlined by NEC Rookie of the Year Anna Grigoryan (Moscow, Russia) of LIU Brooklyn.  She is joined by FDU’s Liza Rachenko (Kharkiv, Ukraine/Private Boiko School) (#3 flight), Sacred Heart’s Olivia Podsiebierski (Linden, NJ/Linden), Saint Francis U’s Raksha Bode (Reunion, FL/Florida Virtual School) (#3), Wagner’s Rina Baynes (Johns Creek, GA/Chattahoochee) (#4) and Saint Francis U’s Stephanie Miller (Washington, D.C./St. John’s College HS) (#5).
 
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 35th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30).  Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Google+, all @NECsports.