2009 All-PSAC Women's Tennis Teams (pdf)
Lock Haven, Pa. - Kutztown’s Rohini Das has been named the PSAC East Athlete of the Year while California (Pa.)’s Helena VanEysendeyk has been named the PSAC West Athlete of the Year as those two top tennis athletes highlight the All-PSAC East and West women’s tennis teams.
The awards in the Eastern Division were spread out to three different teams, as in addition to Kutztown, East Stroudsburg and Bloomsburg each claimed an award. ESU’s Amanda Kaufman was named the East Freshman of the Year while Bloomsburg’s Marty Coyne was named the East Coach of the Year. California swept all three awards in the Western Division as in addition to VanEysendeyk, teammate Alina Stanila was named the Freshman of the Year and head coach Pablo Montana was named the Coach of the Year.
Four of the six players on the all-conference singles team in the East are repeat selections. Kutztown’s Sabrina Arnaud, Rohini Das and Barbara Joerns as well as Bloomsburg’s Katie Hasyn are all repeat singles selections. Das and Hasyn, both juniors, are now three-time all-conference selections in singles. Hasyn and the Kutztown trio are joined on the first team by Freshman of the Year Kaufman and Bloomsburg sophomore Laura Sullivan.
Das also added a third straight all-conference doubles selection to her resume, as she teamed with Joerns to be named to one of the three doubles spots on the team. East Stroudsburg’s sophomore doubles duo of Katie D’Ambrosia and Jamie Ferrigno were also named all-conference in doubles for the second straight year while Bloomsburg’s Alison Carney and Emily Palko round out the team as each earn their first career all-conference honor.
Three of the six singles players on the West team are also repeat selections, led by Athlete of the Year VanEysendeyk, who makes both the singles and doubles team for the third straight year as a junior. Slippery Rock’s Kayla Blackburn earned her fourth straight all-conference selection at both singles and doubles to wrap up her outstanding career while teammate Laura Handy, a junior, also earned both singles and doubles all-conference recognition for the third straight year in both. In addition to VanEysendeyk, Cal was represented on the all-conference team in singles by Stanila and Axelle Fernandez. Mercyhurst’s Kim Ezzo rounded out the team.
Blackburn and Jessica Hilborn of Slippery Rock highlight the all-conference doubles teams. Although Blackburn has made the doubles team for four straight years, Hilborn is her third different doubles partner to be honored along with her. VanEysendeyk pairs with her second different partner as she teamed with the Freshman of the Year Stanila this year while Cal’s Nina Kowalski makes it for the second straight year but with a new partner this year, the freshman Fernandez.
For Das, this marks her first PSAC East Athlete of the Year award. The native of India compiled an overall singles record of 18-5 this year, including a perfect 5-0 mark in PSAC East play and a 10-3 overall mark at No. 1 singles. She was also 3-0 at No. 2 singles. She also paired with Joerns to go 9-7 overall at doubles, including 3-0 in the conference and 8-5 at No. 1 doubles. Overall, she had a 12-9 record in doubles and a perfect 5-0 mark in the PSAC East while helping to lead Kutztown to a second place finish in the PSAC East and a fourth place finish in the PSAC Tournament. Individually, at the PSAC individual tennis championships in the fall, Das finished as the runner-up in singles and was a semifinalist along with Joerns in doubles.
Kaufman helped lead East Stroudsburg to a third place finish in the PSAC East and a berth in the PSAC Tournament for the first time in school history since the team championship format was introduced in the PSAC. She went 9-4 at No. 1 singles. Overall, she was 14-9 in singles and a 10-6 in doubles, including 3-0 at No. 1 doubles. She advanced to the quarterfinals at the PSAC individual championship in the fall.
Coyne guided Bloomsburg to 15-6 overall dual match record and a perfect 5-0 mark in the PSAC East to claim the PSAC East championship. The Huskies also finished as the runner-up at the PSAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, where they captured the NCAA Atlantic Regional championship to advance to the national tournament, where their season ended with a loss in the national quarterfinals. This marks the fifth Coach of the Year award for Coyne, with all five having come in the last six years.
VanEysendeyk is the PSAC East Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year after compiling an overall singles record of 26-2 on the year and a combined overall doubles record of 30-6. She went 17-1 at No. 1 singles and 21-4 with primary doubles partner Stanila, including 20-3 at No. 1 doubles and a 5-0 mark in PSAC West play. She also won the doubles championship with Fernandez at the PSAC individual championships in the fall.
Stanila led the Vulcans in overall singles win with a 28-5 overall record. She played primarily at No. 2 singles, where she went 17-3. She was also 4-0 in PSAC West play. In doubles, she went a combined 22-6 while playing primarily with VanEysendeyk. The freshman also won the PSAC individual singles championship in the fall, defeated Das of Kutztown in the championship match.
Montana earns his third PSAC West Coach of the Year honor, of which have come in the last five years. Under his guidance, the Vulcans captured the PSAC West championship for the fifth straight year and also won the PSAC Tournament title for the third straight year, finishing the season with a perfect 5-0 mark in the division and a 23-3 dual match record. They also advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.
2009 All-PSAC East Women’s Tennis Team
Singles
Sabrina Arnaud* Kutztown Jr. Pintendre, Canada
Rohini Das**^^ Kutztown Jr. Kolkata, India
Katie Hasyn**^^ Bloomsburg Jr. Lansdale, Pa./North Penn
Amanda Kaufman East Stroudsburg Fr. Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East
Barbara Joerns*^ Kutztown Sr. Ludwigshafen, Germany
Laura Sullivan Bloomsburg So. Dingman’s Ferry, Pa./Delaware Valley
Doubles
Alison Carney/ Jr. Muncy, Pa./Warrior Run
Emily Palko Bloomsburg Fr. McMurray, Pa./Peters Township
Katie D’Ambrosia^/ So. Broomall, Pa./Marple Newtown
Jamie Ferrigno^ East Stroudsburg So. West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove
Rohini Das**^^/ Jr. Kolkata, India
Barbara Joerns*^ Kutztown Sr. Ludwigshafen, Germany
PSAC East Athlete of the Year
Rohini Das Kutztown Jr. Kolkata, India
PSAC East Freshman of the Year
Amanda Kaufman East Stroudsburg Fr. Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East
PSAC East Coach of the Year
Marty Coyne Bloomsburg
2009 All-PSAC West Women’s Tennis Team
Singles
Kayla Blackburn***^^^ Slippery Rock Sr. Alum Bank, Pa./Chestnut Ridge
Kim Ezzo Mercyhurst So. Youngstown, Ohio/Ursuline
Axelle Fernandez California (Pa.) Fr. Nice, France/Institut Familial
Laura Handy**^^ Slippery Rock Jr. Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair
Alina Stanila California (Pa.) Fr. Alexandria, Romania/Technical
Helena VanEysendeyk**^^ California (Pa.) Jr. Meythet, France/Zurich International
Doubles
Kayla Blackburn***^^^/ Sr. Alum Bank, Pa./Chestnut Ridge
Jessica Hilborn Slippery Rock Jr. Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North
Axelle Fernandez/ Fr. Nice, France/Institut Familial
Nina Kowalski^ California (Pa.) So. Hofheim, Germany/Man Taunus
Helena VanEysendeyk**^^/ Jr. Meythet, France/Zurich International
Alina Stanila California (Pa.) Fr. Alexandria, Romania/Technical
PSAC West Athlete of the Year
Helena VanEysendeyk California (Pa.) Jr. Meythet, France/Zurich International
PSAC West Freshman of the Year
Alina Stanila California (Pa.) Fr. Alexandria, Romania/Technical
PSAC West Coach of the Year
Pablo Montana California (Pa.)
* Indicates previous All-PSAC singles selection
^ Indicates previous All-PSAC doubles selection