Tennis Places Six on the Second Team All-NEC Squad

5/17/05 -- Sophomore Merve Koksal and junior Krystina Bachner were named second team All-Northeast Conference in singles and doubles. Junior Claudia Arteaga and sophomore Xenia Roman earned the same honor in singles, as did seniors Veronica Apostu-Efremov and Ellen Anolin in doubles for Long Island University.

Koksal (Ankara, Turkey), last year’s NEC Rookie of the Year, repeated her second-team effort at first singles with 18 victories this season. She and Anolin (Flushing, N.Y.) comprised a formidable duo at second doubles, recording a 13-4 record this season and 30-6 over the last two campaigns for another second-team nod.

Bachner (Penfield, N.Y.) went 16-4 at No. 3 singles that was good for the conference’s best winning percentage at .800, including 5-1 against the NEC. In addition to repeating her second-team honor in singles, she did so at first doubles as she and Apostu-Efremov (Bucharest, Romania) combined for a league-best 16 victories versus five defeats.

Arteaga (Cali, Colombia) enjoyed an impressive debut season for the Blackbirds, notching a 12-10 mark at fourth singles that included a 6-1 record against the NEC. Roman (Vera Cruz, Mexico) at No. 6 singles earned her second consecutive award on the league’s second team, recording a 14-6 record with a 5-1 conference mark.

The awards come on the heels of LIU (15-7, 5-0 NEC) advancing to the conference final a second straight year before falling to Quinnipiac. The Blackbirds, who swept the second team all-conference awards last season, went 10-5 in the spring that included a five-match winning streak before the final.