Lauren Post named Little East Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Year

Alyssa Hoynack named Second Flight First Team honoree
Hoynack and Post honored as Doubles' Top-Flight First Team selection
Alison Mahony named to Singles' Second Team

from the desk of Jack Holleran - LEC Director of Communications

NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA (Oct. 3)— The Little East Conference office announced its 2010 women’s tennis all-conference teams and major award winners this afternoon after a vote by each of the conference’s nine coaches.  Western Connecticut State University senior Lauren Post (Danbury, Conn.) was named the Player of the Year, while University of Massachusetts Dartmouth freshman Nicole Pelletier (Swansea, Mass.) was selected as the Rookie of the Year. Bridgewater State University’s Barry Gorman was chosen as the Coach of the Year, and Rhode Island College won the Team Sportsmanship Award.

Post is making her third consecutive appearance on the All-Little East teams and first as the top-flight singles honoree. The Danbury, Conn. product completed her collegiate career with an eight-match win streak to raise her No. 1 singles mark to 12-1. She won six of her eight matches in the conference circuit in straight sets to sport an 8-0 record. Post also combined with classmate Alyssa Hoynack (Old Lyme, Conn.) to earn first-team honors at No. 1 doubles with an overall record of 12-1, including an undefeated 7-0 mark in the conference. She will depart the Colonials lineup as the all-time wins leader in program history since Western Connecticut joined the Little East Conference in 1993.

Pelletier is the second Corsair student-athlete in the past three years to earn the top rookie award in the conference, joining Kelsey Grossman’s (Holliston, Mass.) selection in 2008.  The native of Swansea, Mass. is making her debut on the all-conference teams as a No. 2 doubles honoree. Pelletier helped UMass Dartmouth earn a share of the Little East regular-season title from the No. 2 singles position. She posted an overall record of 5-5 at second-flight singles, but collected an additional three straight-set victories at top-flight singles to raise her individual mark to 8-5.  Pelletier and freshman Elizabeth Cignoli (Springfield, Mass.) boasted an 8-3 record at second-flight doubles, including a 7-2 mark inside the conference.

Under the watchful eye of Gorman, Bridgewater State captured the program’s second Little East Women’s Tennis Championship in the past four years. The Bears established a new program record for victories with a 14-1 record, putting an additional win between the 1986 (13-1) and 1989 (13-0) squads. Bridgewater State earned a share of the conference’s regular season title and the second seed in the Little East Championship with a 7-1 mark. The Bears booked their third-straight appearance in the conference championship match by defeating Salem State, 5-2. The victory over the Vikings made Gorman the all-time winningest coach in Bridgewater State program-history (38-9). The Bears avenged their lone Little East loss in the tournament with a dominating 5-0 victory over the Corsairs in the championship match. Gorman mentored three all-conference first-team student-athletes this fall. He will lead Bridgewater State into the 2011 NCAA Division III Tournament as the Little East representative.

2010 Little East Conference Women's Tennis All-Conference Teams

Player of the Year
Lauren Post, Western Connecticut State University

Rookie of the Year
Nicole Pelletier, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Coach of the Year
Barry Gorman, Bridgewater State University

Team Sportsmanship Award
Rhode Island College

SINGLES - FIRST TEAM
Flight.. Name...................... Institution
1....... Lauren Post............... Western Connecticut State University
2....... Alyssa Hoynack............ Western Connecticut State University
3....... Jenna Williamson.......... Bridgewater State University
........ Carly Muniz............... Salem State University
4....... Tegan Talbot.............. University of Southern Maine
5....... Bridget Murphy............ Bridgewater State University
6....... Alison Joseph............. Bridgewater State University

SINGLES - SECOND TEAM
Flight.. Name...................... Institution
1....... Amy Lopes................. University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
2....... Lauren Torenne............ Salem State University
3....... Alison Mahony............. Western Connecticut State University
4....... Smith..................... Plymouth State University
5....... Emily Boutin.............. University of Southern Maine
6....... Angela Pollard............ University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

DOUBLES - FIRST TEAM
Flight.. Name................................ Institution
1....... Lauren Post/Alyssa Hoynack.......... Western Connecticut State University
2....... Carly Muniz/Lauren Torenne.......... Salem State University
3....... Alison Furtado/Angela Pollard....... University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

DOUBLES - SECOND TEAM
Flight.. Name................................ Institution
1....... Amy Lopes/Alexa Fiorita............. University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
2....... Elizabeth Cignoli/Nicole Pelletier.. University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
3....... Sarah Moody/Erica Robertson......... University of Southern Maine