Teams: Women's Tennis: Press Releases

PLAYER OF THE YEAR BROWNE, COACH OF THE YEAR BAYARD AND McCOOEY HONORED BY NESCAC

NESCAC Player of the Year Julia Browne

MEDFORD -- Tufts University women's tennis team sophomore Julia Browne (Old Brookville, NY/Friends Academy), who is undefeated against conference opponents in singles this year, has been voted by the league's head coaches as the 2008-09 NESCAC Player of the Year. She was also named to the All-Conference First Team in singles and doubles, while teammate Meghan McCooey (Cumberland, RI/Mount St. Charles) is on the First Team for doubles and the Second Team for singles. Tufts' Kate Bayard was selected as the conference's Co-Coach of the Year.

Entering NCAA Tournament play, Browne has won all 14 of her matches against NESCAC opponents. Only two of the matches have gone more than two sets. She has defeated other All-NESCAC First Team selections Victoria Aiello from Middlebury, Grace Baljon from Williams, Brittany Berckes from Amherst (the 2008 NESCAC Player of the Year), Sarah D'Elia from Bowdoin, Cary Gibson from Williams and Nikki Reich from Williams. The conference's Rookie of the Year last season, Browne's overall record is 21-2 this season. She was on the All-NESCAC Second Team for singles last year.

In doubles, Browne and McCooey have won 14 of their 17 competitions against NESCAC foes. Among their wins are All-NESCAC honorees Berckes/Natasha Brown from Amherst (three times), D'Elia/Emily Lombardi from Bowdoin (twice) and Chandra Kurien/Elizabeth Stone from Middlebury. Browne and McCooey have a 23-3 overall record together this year.

McCooey, Tufts' #2 singles player, has compiled an 8-2 mark against league opponents. Among the players she defeated were Gibson, Kurien and Lombardi. McCooey has a 10-4 record in singles overall for 2008-09. She was on the All-Conference first team for singles in 2007-08.

In her fourth season at Tufts, Bayard directed the Jumbos into the NCAA Tournament against this spring. The team has a 9-5 record overall and #16 ranking in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll. The Jumbos were 6-3 against NESCAC teams during the regular season and advanced to the semi-final round of the conference tournament for the second straight year. The six NESCAC honors earned by the team this season (Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, three First Team, one Second Team) is the most for Tufts tennis since the 2004-05 season. Bayard shares the Coach of the Year award with Williams College's Alison Swain.

Tufts received a first-round bye in the NCAA's. They will play the winner of today's first-round match between Bowdoin and UMass Dartmouth in the second round on Saturday at Amherst.

►2009 NESCAC Women's Tennis All-Conference Teams

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