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NEC Men's Player of the Month: Jorge Ortiz Garcia, BRY
NEC Men's Rookie of the Month: Trent Massam, BRY
NEC Women's Co-Players of the Month: Anna Grigoryan, LIU & Alexa Quintanilla, MSM
NEC Women's Rookie of the Month: Fidan Khalilzade, WC
NEC MEN’S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Jorge Ortiz Garcia, Bryant
Sr., Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico/Cupeyville School
Ortiz Garcia, a three-time All-NEC first team award winner, jumped out to a strong start in his senior season, posting a 5-1 singles record and 6-1 doubles mark in September for the four-time defending NEC champion Bulldogs. He posted a 3-0 mark at the Ivy Plus, collecting wins over opponents from Penn, Brown and Harvard. Ortiz Garcia went on to win two-of-three matches at the Brown Invitational with victories against Boston College and Boston University. Teaming up with younger brother Jorge Isaias, the duo knocked off tandems from BU, Harvard, Penn and Brown en-route to a perfect 4-0 mark at the Ivy Plus
NEC MEN’S TENNIS ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
Trent Massam, Bryant
Fr., Wellington, New Zealand/Hutt International Boys School
Massam appears to be a strong addition to an already loaded Bryant lineup. The freshman posted a 4-3 record over his first month of collegiate play, including a 6-1, 7-6 (5) win over Marist’s Christopher Gladden - the 2016-17 MAAC Rookie of the Year - at the Ivy Plus. He also went a perfect 3-0 at the Brown Invitational with wins against Villanova, Boston College and Boston University.
NEC WOMEN’S TENNIS CO-PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
Anna Grigoryan, LIU Brooklyn
Jr., Moscow, Russia
Competing a the Oracle ITA Masters event, Grigoryan picked up a win against #99-ranked Viktoriya Dzyuba of Lipscomb, rallying for a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory. The reigning NEC Player of the Year also took another top-100 player, Claudia Herrero Garcia of Nevada, to three sets before falling. Grigoryan also reached the "A" bracket singles final at the Hofstra Invitational, beating her twin sister Tatyana, who plays at Fordham, to reach the final.
Alexa Quintanilla, Mount St. Mary’s
So., Lima, Peru/Colegio Maria Reina Marianistas
Quintanilla, an NEC All-Rookie selection for the Mount a year ago, is off to a blazing 12-1 start to her sophomore campaign, highlighted by an individual singles title at the Bucknell Invitational to open the season. She won all four of her #1 singles matches at the event, including a 5-7, 6-4 (10-6) victoy in the final over Saint Francis U’s Laura Gutierrez. Quintanilla went on to go 4-0 at the Loyola Invitational this past weekend. In doing so, she improved her career mark to 29-10 in singles play. Quintanilla also teamed up with Megan Gamble to win six doubles matches in September.
NEC WOMEN’S TENNIS ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
Fidan Khalilzade, Wagner
Fr., Baku, Azerbaijan/Respublican Olympic Sports Lyceum
Khalilzade wrapped her first month at Wagner with a 4-1 singles record, advancing to the “B” bracket semifinals at the Army West Point Invitational. In the event, she knocked off All-A10 performer Maia Balce of Fordham, 7-5, 3-6, 10-8, and posted three set wins over opponents from Colgate and NJIT. Khalilzade also paired up with Brenda Cumpa for a 2-1 doubles mark last month.
NEC PRIME PERFORMERS
Saint Francis U junior Raksha Bode (Reunion, FL/Florida Virtual School) won her singles draw at the Western & Southern Collegiate Invite, finishing a perfect 3-0 at the event. She beat Cincinnati's Maria Teixido Garcia, 6-4, 6-7, 10-6 in the final.
LIU Brooklyn junior Malin Leysen (Leuven, Belgium/Koninklijk Atheneum) captured the "B" singles draw at the Stony Brook Invitational. She picked up wins against Army, Navy and St. John's before coming back to beat Navy's Emily Louie-Meadors, 1-6, 6-2, 10-3, in the final.
Mount St. Mary's senior Brandon Wortkotter (Fort Myers, FL/Lassiter Georgia) won the #2 singles flight title at the Bucknell Fall Invite. He took down competitors from Loyola (MD), Saint Francis U and Hofstra prior to beating Bucknell's Max McDonald, 6-4, 6-4, in the finals.
Wagner sophomore Hans Ohrner (Margate, FL/Coral Springs Christian Academy), an NEC All-Rookie selection last spring, finished the month with a 6-2 singles mark and won the "B" singles championship at the Hofstra Invitational. He beat players from Fairleigh Dickinson and Fordham before stopping Hofstra's Corentin Haener, 9-8 (4), to win the title.
Bryant junior Matt Kuhar (Smithfield, RI/Smithfield) finished with a 2-1 record at the Brown Invitational after opening his season at the prestigious Oracle ITA Masters in Malibu, CA. The 2016-17 NEC Player of the Year had a strong showing against Wake Forest's Petros Chrysochos, the third ranked player in the country, falling by a 6-2, 7-5 final score.