Tennis Picked Second In Preseason Northeast Conference Coaches Poll 

2/23/07-- The Long Island University women’s tennis team has been tabbed to finish second in the 2007 Northeast Conference Championship according to a poll of the league coaches. The Blackbirds received two first-place votes from the league’s coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own team.

LIU, the runner-up in each of the last three seasons, was picked to finish behind three-time defending champion, Quinnipiac. The Bobcats received eight first-place votes to top the Blackbirds in the poll. Long Island lost a narrow 4-3 decision to Quinnipiac in last year’s conference final.

Although LIU must replace NEC Player of the Year, Jessica Loose, second-year and reigning NEC Coach of the Year Asi Phillips returns a pair of league first-teamers in senior Merve Koksal (Ankara, Turkey) and sophomore Ashley Harvey (Randallstown, Md.). Koksal has posted a 59-17 mark in singles play during her career and will be looking to collect all-conference honors for the fourth time this year, while returning as the #1 singles player on LIU. Harvey had an immediate impact as a rookie, garnering NEC Rookie of the Year honors after posting a league-high 23 wins and an .852 winning percentage at #4 singles. Long Island also returns senior Xenia Roman Korobochkina (Vera Cruz, Mexico) and Amy Hosotsuji (Toronto, Ontario) and welcomes newcomers Liliana Cortes (Cochabamba, Bolivia) and H’Ann Johnson (St. John’s, Antigua). Cortes is a sophomore transfer from Southern Utah.

Sacred Heart was picked just behind LIU, while Mount St. Mary’s and Fairleigh Dickinson round out the top five. Saint Francis (Pa.) was sixth, followed by Monmouth and Robert Morris, which were picked in a tie for seventh. Wagner and St. Francis (N.Y.) rounded out the preseason poll.

The Blackbirds are back in action on Friday, March 2 when they travel to Saint Peter’s in Jersey City, N.J., for a 3:00 p.m. match.