LIU women’s tennis has ‘nothing to lose’ in Miami

NEC champion Blackbirds eager for shot at Hurricanes

May 9, 2018 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Reigning two-time NEC Player of the Year Anna Grigoryan will try to lead the Long Island University Brooklyn women’s tennis squad to a stunning upset of No. 15 Miami Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Photo courtesy of LIU Brooklyn Athletics

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Reigning two-time Northeast Conference Coach of the Year Anthony Davison believes his Long Island University Brooklyn women’s tennis team may have a little something for the nationally ranked Miami Hurricanes Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

“We are all excited to play against the U,” Davison told the Eagle this week as his back-to-back NEC champions continued to prepare here in Downtown Brooklyn for the much-anticipated first-round showdown against No. 15 Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.

“We know it will be a very hard match as they are one of the strongest teams in the country,” he added. “But we learned from playing Pepperdine last year. So hopefully we can play our best tennis on the day and show them how good we are.”

Just how good are these Blackbirds?

Well, they ran roughshod over the NEC this season with a perfect 8-0 record in league play, including a breathtaking three-match run through the conference tournament, during which they only dropped a single set.

Top-flight standout Anna Grigoryan received her second straight NEC Player of the Year award last week, going 23-7 in singles play, including an eye-popping 16-2 mark against opponents’ No. 1 players.

The junior from Moscow, who also captured the NEC Rookie of the Year honor as a freshman, was named the NEC Tournament’s first-ever Most Valuable Player two weekends again in West Windsor, N.J., earning wins for the Blackbirds in top-flight singles and doubles.

And on Monday, Grigoryan was named LIU-Brooklyn’s Co-Female Athlete of the Year along with junior track-and-field star Shantae McDonald.

But Grigoryan isn’t the only All-NEC star on this roster.

The Blackbirds also boast first-team singles players like sophomores Jessica Brzozowska and Jennifer Gogova, as well as junior Malin Leysen.

Fast-emerging second-year player Sasha Bollweg was named to the NEC’s All-Second Team and Grigoryan’s doubles partner, sophomore Ana Leonte, joined Gogova and Leysen on the second-team doubles squad.

“The team has really improved this year — we added two players who have had a fantastic influence,” gushed Davison of the additions of Brzozowska and junior Clemence Krug, who earned the clinching point in the NEC Final.

“Clem from France is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever come across and is a fantastic person to have as a teammate,” Davision added. “Jess is a really talented player who has fit in tremendously well. She’s been fantastic, especially in doubles, which has helped us get some solid results.”

Of course, it will still be up to the team’s undisputed leader, Grigoryan, to set the tone Friday against the 16th-seeded Hurricanes.

Last year, Grigoryan fell to Pepperdine’s Luisa Stefani, the 14th-ranked singles player in the nation, in straight sets (6-1, 6-3) as the team saw its season end in the NCAA opener, 4-0, to the then-No. 12-ranked Waves in Malibu, California.

The well-decorated Grigoryan will have an even tougher opponent in Miami this weekend as the Hurricanes’ top-flight singles ace, Estela Perez-Somaribba, was recently named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Player of the Year and is ranked third individually in the entire nation.

“Estela’s commitment to her tennis and this program is just phenomenal,” Miami head coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews said this week.

“This young lady is a coach’s dream — respectful, hard-working, accountable — and just a beast on the court. Huge congrats to an amazing student-athlete, but we still have a lot of work in front of us.”

As does Grigoryan, who, along with her teammates, will be challenged like never before in the Sunshine State.

“Anna has stepped up another level and is playing some incredible tennis,” Davison said of Grigoryan, whom he will be fortunate enough to have back for her season campaign in 2018-19.

“She has had a really impressive year and it will be exciting to see how she does against one of the best players in the country at Miami.”

This will be the Brooklyn team’s second trip to Florida this season.

The Blackbirds breezed past Palm Beach Atlantic University, 8-1, on March 13 before suffering a narrow 4-3 defeat at Stetson University in Deland, Florida, three days later.

“We played in south Florida earlier this year and know the conditions will be intense,” Davison said.

“But it will be a great test for us and we have nothing to lose.”

Except a chance to pull off the biggest upset in the program’s history and earn a shot at a second-round matchup against Florida International or the University of Central Florida on Saturday.

Other than that, it’s just your run-of-the-mill trip to steamy South Florida.

* * *

Though they finished fourth overall in this past weekend’s Northeast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Emmitsburg, Maryland, the Long Island University Brooklyn Blackbirds still came home with plenty of jewelry, winning six events outright while grabbing five silver medals to go with that slew of gold.

Junior sprinter Caleb Williams won the 100-meter dash in 10.70 seconds, sophomore Collin Sewell took the gold in both 200-meter and 400-meter dash, junior Roderick Moodie cleared the 110-meter hurdles in 14.23 seconds and high-jump king Kareem Roberts cleared 2.02 meters.

Also, the Blackbirds’ 4×400-meter relay squad of Williams, Ernest Agyeman, Kwesi Henderson and Sean Sinclair finished first with a time of 3:18.76.

The team will be back in action this weekend at Princeton University, defending last year’s ECAS/IC4A Outdoor Championship.