LATHAM, N.Y. – The United East Conference office released the 2022 All-United East Conference Women’s Tennis Teams Wednesday morning and the St. Mary’s College of Maryland women’s tennis team landed their entire starting lineup on the all-conference teams plus claimed all of the major awards.
Sixth-year head coach Greg Shedd was named the United East Coach of the Year in the Seahawks’ inaugural season in the league. He led St. Mary’s to the regular-season conference title with an undefeated record of 5-0 and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming 2022 United East Conference Championship Tournament.
This is Shedd’s first-ever Coach of the Year award as well as the first in the history of the Seahawks women’s tennis program.
“I am honored to receive this award on behalf of our coaching staff and thankful to the other coaches for welcoming me into the United East Conference. I am very grateful to have received incredible support from the SMCM community, assistant coaches, administrators, staff, players, and my family throughout this season,” Shedd said.
First-year Diana Levit (Rockville, Md./Richard Montgomery) swept both the United East Player and Rookie of the Year awards. Levit is the first Seahawk women’s tennis player to ever earn a Player of the Year award and just the third to garner Rookie of the Year honors following in the footsteps of Katie Long ’04 (2001) and Melissa Barall ’18 (2015), who both grabbed Capital Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year honors.
Levit, senior captain Hallie Hershey (Keedysville, Md./North Hagerstown), first-year Amber Manspeaker (Westminster, Md./Westminster), junior Sydney Anderson (Ellicott City, Md./Wilde Lake), and first-year Giselle Harris (Easton, Md./Easton) were all named to the All-United East First Team in singles while junior captain Hannah Gorel (Jessup, Md./Hammond) garnered second-team honors at No. 2 singles.
In doubles action, Levit, Gorel, Hershey, Manspeaker, Anderson, and Harris were all selected to the All-United East First Team.
All six are first-time postseason honorees. Six all-conference selections are a program-high, surpassing the previous mark of two last achieved in 2012. The eight First Team selections are the most-ever since two in 2008.
“I am really proud of the accomplishments of our student-athletes this year. They have embraced a growth mindset, found joy in the game, and competed at a high level while maintaining proper sportsmanship,” Shedd expressed. “It is a pleasure to coach this team, and to see them recognized for their efforts throughout the season is very rewarding.”
Levit picked up First Team singles honors at the No. 1 spot as she finished the regular season with a 7-8 (5-0 UEC) record, including a 6-6 mark at No. 1 singles. Levit earned United East Player of the Week honors on April 18.
Hershey was the First Team honoree at No. 3 singles after completing the regular season with a 7-4 (5-0 UEC) record, including a 6-2 log at No. 3 singles and a 1-2 mark at No. 2 singles.
Manspeaker, the First Team pick at No. 4 singles, is tied for the team lead with 10 singles victories as she owns a 10-5 (5-0 UEC) record, including an 8-2 mark at the fourth spot and a 2-3 log at No. 3 singles. Manspeaker also nabbed the United East Player of the Week award on September 20.
First Team honors at No. 5 singles went to Anderson, who came in with a 9-5 (4-0 UEC) record, went 5-2 at the fifth spot and 4-1 at No. 4. Anderson was named the United East Player of the Week on March 14.
Harris wraps up the final First Team singles spot as she posted a 6-11 (2-2 UEC) record, including a 4-4 mark at No. 6 singles.
Gorel was the Second Team selection at No. 2 singles. She shares the team lead for singles victories with Manspeaker as Gorel holds a 10-8 (4-1 UEC) record. The 5-6 captain went 8-4 at the second spot and was named the United East Player of the Week on April 26.
The duo of Gorel and Levit earned First Team honors at No. 1 doubles after going 7-5 (5-0 UEC).
The tandem of Hershey and Manspeaker garnered the First Team award at No. 2 doubles with a 7-1 (5-0 UEC) record.
Anderson and Harris teamed up for First Team honors at No. 3 doubles with a 5-1 (3-0 UEC) mark.
In its inaugural season in the United East, St. Mary’s College (8-7) notched an undefeated league record of 5-0, clinching the No. 1 seed in the 2022 United East Conference Championship Tournament. The United East Tournament begins this weekend at the Hershey Racquet Club in Hershey, Pa., with semifinals on Friday, April 29, and the championship match on Saturday, April 30.
The Seahawks will face fourth-seeded Penn State Abington on Friday at 6:00 p.m. During the regular season, St. Mary’s handed the Nittany Lions a 9-0 setback. The winner will advance to Saturday’s title match at 10:00 a.m.
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Credits:
Bill Wood