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News Release
WOMEN'S TENNIS SWEEPS NEC ALL-CONFERENCE AWARDS
5/22/2003
Somerset, NJ -- Coming off its fifth straight NEC women’s tennis championship last month, UMBC was duly rewarded by league head coaches in postseasonall-conference balloting. UMBC, which has won five consecutive NEC women’s tennis titles, had individuals collect first team honors in all six singles flights andeach of the three doubles flights. In addition, UMBC’s Keith Puryear was tabbed NEC Coach of the Year for the third year in a row and the fourth time in the lastfive years. Following two seasons as UMBC’s #2 flight player, junior Jana Karaskova (Uhersky Brod, Czech Republic) made a seamless transition to #1 singles in 2002-03,finishing 22-8 to earn first team all-NEC honors for the third consecutive year. A two-time NEC Player of the Week, she went 3-0 versus NEC competition and is10-0 lifetime within the conference. Her overall record at UMBC is a phenomenal 67-15 (.817). UMBC’s Anita Pushpanathan (New Foundland, Canada/Prince of Wales Collegiate), the lone senior on the team, collects her second straight first team all-NECaward, this time at the #2 flight. Pushpanathan went 11-11 overall and won all three of her matches against NEC opposition. She previously earned all-conferencerecognition at #1 singles in 2001-02. UMBC junior Tia Kaasalainen (Pirkkala, Finland/Sampo) is the coaches pick at #3 singles. A second team selection last season, Kaasalainen posted a 22-8record in 2002-03, including a 4-0 mark within the conference. She is 36-16 (.692) in her two years at the Baltimore school. UMBC’s Alessandra Pedergnana (Holliswood, NY/St. Francis Prep) is the lone freshman to achieve first team all-star status. A #4 singles flight player,Pedergnana staked her claim for all-conference honors by compiling a 27-6 record to lead the NEC in victories. She also was undefeated in league action,amassing a 6-0 mark. An all-conference performer at #4 singles last season, UMBC sophomore Lana Khvalina (Rochester, NY/Brighton) was the league’s most prolific player at the #5flight in 2002-03. Khvalina sported a 22-6 overall record and was 5-0 in league play. She is a spectacular 44-10 (.815) as a collegian. UMBC #6 flight player, sophomore Aimee Lim (New City, NY/Clarkstown South), is yet another repeat all-NEC first team honoree. Lim battled her way to a20-7 record and won four of her five NEC matches on the season. A #5 flight all-star in 2001-02, she is 41-13 (.759) over the course of her career. UMBC’s Tia Kaasalainen (Pirkkala, Finland/Sampo) paired with Lana Khvalina (Rochester, NY/Brighton) to form the league’s most prominent #1 doubles duo. Named to the league’s first team at the #2 flight last season, the tandem posted a 14-7 record and produced a 5-0 NEC mark in 2002-03. First team accolades at #2 doubles go to the UMBC team of Jana Karaskova (Uhersky Brod, Czech Republic) and Alessandra Pedergnana (Holliswood, NY/St.Francis Prep). The pair tied for the league lead with 16 victories (against just two setbacks) and went 3-0 in league play. Closing out the all-conference first team is the UMBC #3 doubles pairing of Anita Pushpanathan (New Foundland, Canada/Prince of Wales Collegiate) and AimeeLim (New City, NY/Clarkstown South). The partners claimed victories in nine-of-18 matches and were 2-1 versus the NEC. Puryear, in his 14th year as UMBC head coach, has constructed one of the top women’s tennis programs in the Mid-Atlantic region and has led the Retrievers tofive consecutive NEC championships. In 2002-03, UMBC finished with a 17-5 record and made a fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament, falling to #7 Georgia, 4-0,in the first round. He is a four-time NEC Coach of the Year, including each of the last three seasons. Quinnipiac, the NEC runner-up to UMBC in each of the last four years, features a large contingent of second team award winners, including four all-NEC singlesplayers and all three doubles honorees. Junior Danielle Rautenberg (Mansfield, MA/Bishop Feehan), senior Cristin Arahovites (Cold Spring Harbor, NY/ColdSpring Harbor) and sophomores Liz Axler (Huntington, NY/Walt Whitman) and Katherine Ehle (Marshfield, MA/Marshfield) all repeat as all-conference awardwinners. Rautenberg, who jumped from #4 to #2 singles play in 2002-03, went 13-10 and was 4-0 within the NEC. Arahovites, a first team all-star in 2001-02,was 5-2 in NEC matches and 17-9 overall at #3 singles. Axler’s 17-4 record at the #5 flight was the best on the Bobcats, and she also won five of her six leagueoutings. Ehle, a #6 singles player, ended the season with a 10-4 overall mark and was 3-1 on the conference circuit. Quinnipiac’s second team all-NEC doubles award winners are senior Cristin Arahovites (Cold Spring Harbor, NY/Cold Spring Harbor) and freshman Tina Hoang(Humble, TX/Humble) at the #1 flight, junior Kim Piazza (North Haven, CT/North Haven) and sophomore Liz Axler (Huntington, NY/Walt Whitman) at the #2flight and juniors Danielle Rautenberg (Mansfield, MA/Bishop Feehan) and Heather Rahm (San Diego, CA/Torrey Pines) at the #3 flight. Teaming the veteranArahovites with newcomer Hoang proved to be a winning formula for the Bobcats, as the duo combined for a 14-5 record, including a 5-1 mark going up againstNEC opposition. Piazza and Axler collect all-NEC recognition for the second year in a row, following a 9-5 campaign. The pair produced a 3-1 conferencerecord. Rautenberg and Rahm went 13-5 in 2002-03 and were triumphant in all six of their league outings. The remaining two all-NEC singles awards go to Long Island’s Rachel Berenbaum (Fair Lawn, NJ/Fair Lawn) and Krystina Bachner (Penfield, NY/Webster). Berenbaum, a senior who plays at the #1 flight, becomes a three-time all-conference selection. She was a first team pick at #2 singles in 2000 and 2002, beforebeing elevated to the Blackbirds’ top spot this past season. She tallied a 14-4 record and was unblemished in league play, winning all eight of her matches. Bachner, a freshman who competes at #4 singles, compiled the top winning percentage in the conference (.947) following an 18-1 season. She went 7-1 within theNEC. 2003 NEC Women’s Tennis First Team All-Conference Singles Flight Name School Yr Hometown/High School #1 Jana Karaskova UMBC Jr Uhersky Brod, Czech Republic#2 Anita Pushpanathan UMBC Sr New Foundland, Canada/Prince of Wales Collegiate#3 Tia Kaasalainen UMBC Jr Pirkkala, Finland/Sampo#4 Alessandra Pedergnana UMBC Fr Holliswood, NY/St. Francis Prep#5 Lana Khvalina UMBC So Rochester, NY/Brighton#6 Aimee Lim UMBC So New City, NY/Clarkstown South