HILTON, N.Y. – Russell Sage College had four players: Claire Connolly (Little Falls, NY/Little Falls), a graduate student, junior Gwen Eichen (Moriah Center, NY/Moriah Central), sophomore Tirzah Spivey (Clifton Park, NY/Schenectady), and junior Emma Vander Baan (Barre, MA/Quabbin Regional), receive All-Empire 8 Conference honors. The league office announced the results of the voting, which was done by the head coaches, earlier today.
"I couldn't be happier for Tirzah, Gwen, Claire, and Emma," said Head Coach Michael Branche. "As a coach, I am lucky to have such a group of great people in the program."
Spivey garnered first-team All-E8 status. It marked the second-consecutive fall that Spivey, who played both number one singles and doubles for RSC, was voted All-Conference. She earned second-team accolades in singles as a rookie. Spivey went 7-4 overall and 5-1 in E8 play this autumn and now has 16 career singles victories.
"Tirzah displayed her incredible skill set every match and left it all out on the court. Her dedication to her teammates and competitive nature led her to great success," commented Branche.
The doubles pairing of Connolly and Eichen took home second-team All-E8 honors. Playing at number two, the duo went 6-4 overall, with two of the wins coming in conference matches.
"Gwen's improvement from her freshman year to now has been nothing short of outstanding," said Branche. "Her desire to get better as a player and a leader every day has led her to this distinction. Claire's highly competitive nature and natural-born leadership skills were on full display this season. The cohesion and communication between her and Gwen in doubles was a masterclass."
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2023 E8 Women's Tennis Sportswoman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen. Vander Baan represented the Gators on the squad. The newcomer stood out for her honor and integrity as she provided consistent play throughout the RSC singles and doubles lineups. She tallied three victories between number four and five singles, and combined with five different teammates for three wins at number two and number three doubles.
"Emma's ability to be fiercely competitive all while having great respect for the opponent was apparent immediately," said Branche. "She conducted herself with honor and integrity displaying what RSC Tennis is all about."
The Gators (4-8/2-4 E8) finished tied for fourth in the conference, missing out on a spot in the E8 Championship Tournament via tiebreakers.
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