Emily Kerr Named Second Team All-Conference
WINTHROP, Mass. - Junior captain Emily Kerr (Portland, Conn.) of the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's tennis team was named All-Conference, earning All-Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Second Team Singles honors for the 2021 season, it was announced on Thursday by the league's front office. Additionally, junior Elaina Griffiths (Guilford, Conn.) was tabbed to the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team, as the conference unveiled its year-end GNAC Major Awards and All-Conference Teams, which are voted on by the league's seven head coaches.
Kerr was a staple in the starting lineup for the Blue Jays playing in every match this season primarily at the No. 2 singles position and on the No. 1 doubles team with sophomore Kathleen Gilland (Wethersfield, Conn.). Kerr finished the season 6-7 overall in singles competition, but was 6-3 when playing in the No. 2 singles slot. Kerr ended the season strong, winning four of her final six singles matches, and she went 3-3 against GNAC counterparts on the season en route to earning All-GNAC Second Team honors. Similarly, Kerr also finished 6-7 in doubles action and went 3-3 against GNAC foes. She was 6-5 when parterning up with Gilland on the year.
It marks the first career All-GNAC honor for Kerr and the first All-GNAC selection for women's tennis since the 2016 season. Now sixth-year head coach Karen Piazza also has some hardware to her name after she was named the GNAC Coach of the Year following the 2017 campaign.
For the complete list of all-conference honorees, major award winners, and all-sportsmanship selections, please see below.
FIRST TEAM SINGLES
JuJu Oliver, Albertus Magnus (Fr. - New Britain, Conn.)
Grace Carpenter, Colby-Sawyer (Fr. - Milford, N.H.)
Emily Hill, Colby-Sawyer (Jr. - Wilmington, Mass.)
Lindsay MacDonald, Colby-Sawyer (So. - South Yarmouth, Mass.)
Katelyn Mogelnicki, Regis (Sr. - Wethersfield, Conn.)
Olga Zhizhin, Simmons (So. - Newton, Mass.)
FIRST TEAM DOUBLES
Emily Hill / Grace Carpenter, Colby-Sawyer
SECOND TEAM SINGLES
Elise Hogan, Colby-Sawyer (Fr. - Duxbury, Mass.)
Kaitlyn Colby, Regis (Sr. - Merrimac, Mass.)
Samantha Gevry, Regis (Fr. - Dudley, Mass.)
Lauren Mogelnicki, Regis (Sr. - Wethersfield, Conn.)
Emily Kerr, USJ (Jr. – Portland, Conn.)
Leah Bonis, Simmons (Jr. - Bath, Maine)
SECOND TEAM DOUBLES
Elise Hogan / Lindsay Macdonald, Colby-Sawyer
PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Lindsay MacDonald, Colby-Sawyer
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Grace Carpenter, Colby-Sawyer
COACH OF THE YEAR – Barry Schoonmaker, Colby-Sawyer
TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD – Lesley University
ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Giana Cagna, Albertus Magnus
Elise Hogan, Colby-Sawyer
Maria Busila, Eastern Nazarene
Morgan Anderson, Lesley
Lauren Mogelnicki, Regis
Elaina Griffiths, USJ
Avery Halloran, Simmons
About The GNAC
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 3,500 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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