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SOMERSET, N.J. -- Two weeks after defending its Northeast Conference women's tennis championship, the Fairleigh Dickinson women's tennis team is back in the headlines, this time earning a clean sweep of major postseason awards, the league announced Wednesday.
 
Senior Anna Rapoport (Moscow, Russia/#1239 ) repeated as NEC Player of the Year, while freshman Nicole Chis (Highland Park, N.J./Highland Park) was tabbed NEC Rookie of the Year. First-year head coach Jonathan Buchman was voted NEC Coach of the Year by his peers.
 
Rapoport became just the second two-time NEC Player of the Year, joining LIU Brooklyn's Selma Babic, who was honored in 2009 and 2010. The Moscow, Russia native posted a perfect 7-0 record in NEC play and wrapped her two-year career at FDU with a 12-0 mark against conference opposition.
 
Rapoport racked up 10 wins this season at No. 1 singles, tying her for most in the NEC, and a 14-11 overall mark for the 2012-13 season. She has won nine of her last 10 singles matches heading into FDU's first round NCAA Tournament match at Virginia to boost her career singles record to an impressive 32-14.
 
Rapoport, a two-time NEC Player of the Week this spring, was also voted to the All-NEC doubles first team with Chis. Prior to Rapoport, FDU sported an NEC Player of the Year back in 2007 when Julija Korsunova won the award as a freshman.
 
Chis made quite a splash last fall and never looked back. She began her FDU career by winning NEC Rookie of the Month honors in September, and did one better in October, claiming the NEC Player and Rookie of the Month awards. Chis would go on earn two more Rookie of the Week kudos this spring and at year's end was one of just two freshmen to earn a spot on an All-NEC team, earning second team acclaim at No. 3 singles. 
 
Chis, who has posted a 15-7 record on the year, earned the Flight “C” Championship at the Stony Brook Classic and won the Flight 1 singles crown at the USTA Invitational back in the fall. She is FDU's second NEC Rookie of the Year, joining Julija Korsunova (2007).
 
Buchman earned his first two NEC championship rings back in 2011-12 when he served as an assistant under FDU and NEC coaching legend Ira Miller. One year later, he found himself in a similar spot, albeit this time in a new role having been promoted to head coach of the Knights. 
 
With a chance to repeat on both the men's and women's side, the Knights rallied from behind in both championship matches, giving FDU back-to-back sweeps and the New York native a season to remember. The FDU women engaged in a second straight instant classic with Quinnipiac, and with their 4-3 win, the Knights have their sights set on Virginia in first-round NCAA Tournament action on May 11.
 
The FDU lineup features four All-NEC singles players and each of Buchman's double teams has earned All-Conference recognition.

Rapoport was joined by a pair of teammates on the All-NEC single first team. Freshman Celine Maier (Nuremberg, Germany /Bertolt-Brecht-Schule Nuremberg) was chosen at No. 3, and sophomore Dina Guzairova (Sochi, Russia/Chelyabinsk #8 ) was the pick at No. 5.
 
The lone freshman to be voted a first team all-star, Maier will forever be remembered in FDU annals for her comeback win over Quinnipiac's Michelle Dassa to clinch a second consecutive NEC championship for the Knights. After dropping the first set, 7-5, Maier stormed back to win sets two and three, 6-2 and 6-3, and send FDU back to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Maier leads the Knights with 18 wins on the year and her .750 win percentage ties her for first in the league among those with more than five decisions. She boasts a 10-1 record at the No. 4 flight and a perfect 7-0 slate versus NEC rivals. Maier, the March NEC Rookie of the Month, heads into the postseason on a six-match win streak.
 
A transfer from South Carolina, Guzairova solidified the No. 5 singles spot for the Knights, winning six of seven matches at the flight en route to a 15-9 overall mark on the year. She amassed a 5-1 conference record with two of those wins coming in the NEC Tournament, including a straight-set triumph against Quinnipiac in the championship match. Guzairova has won five-of-six entering the NCAA Tournament.
 
FDU claimed two of the three First Team All-NEC doubles awards. Chis teamed up with Rapoport to collect No. 1 flight accolades, while Guzairova and Manuela Leme (Varginha, Brazil/E.E. Antania Alves Cruz) were recognized at No. 3 doubles. 
 
Chis and Rapoport proved nearly unbeatable for the Knights, posting an NEC-best 10-2 doubles record in 2012-13.  The No. 1 flight team has won seven straight matches, including three straight in the NEC Tournament, and finished with a 5-1 mark against league competitors. Rapoport was previously honored for her doubles play in 2012, picking up second team accolades along with partner Irina Dementyeva (Moscow, Russia/W 91).
 
Guzairova and Leme didn't begin teaming up until March, but in that short span defeated all four of their NEC opponents, highlighted by an 8-6 win in the title match against Quinnipiac. They head into the NCAA Tournament with a 6-4 record. Leme is no stranger to the All-NEC doubles team, having earned first team honors with Elmine Botes (Heidelberg Gauteng, Rep. of South Africa/Hoer Volkskool and British International Distance College) a year ago.
 
Chis was named Second Team All-NEC at No. 3 singles, while Maier and senior Egzona Morina (Prishtina, Kosovo/American School of Kosovo) were tabbed Second Team All-NEC at No. 2 doubles.

Maier and Morina are ending their year red-hot, winners of six of their last seven matches at No. 2 doubles. They combined to go 5-2 against NEC teams, including a pair of NEC Tournament wins. Overall, Maier and Morina have posted an 11-11 record.  Morina is a three-time All-NEC doubles honoree, having been named to the first team in 2010 and 2011, along with Julia Prantl (Benediktbeuern, Germany/GUS-Gymnasium Bad Tolz).
 
2013 NEC Women's Tennis Award Winners                   
                   
NEC Player of the Year
Anna Rapoport (Moscow, Russia/#1239 )           FDU    Sr  Moscow, Russia/#1239

NEC Rookie of the Year
Nicole Chis (Highland Park, N.J./Highland Park)             FDU    Fr  Highland Park, NJ/Highland Park

NEC Coach of the Year
Jonathan Buchman        FDU

2013 NEC Women's Tennis First Team All-Conference                   
 
Singles
 
Flt Name                      School    Yr       Hometown/High School    
#1  Anna Rapoport (Moscow, Russia/#1239 )         FDU    Sr      Moscow, Russia/#1239
#2  Jacqueline Raynor   QU      So     Garden City, NY/Garden City
#3  Sarah Viebrock         QU      Sr      Carmel, NY/John F. Kennedy Catholic
#4  Celine Maier (Nuremberg, Germany /Bertolt-Brecht-Schule Nuremberg)             FDU     Fr      Nuremberg, Germany/Bertolt-Brecht-Schule Nuremberg
#5  Dina Guzairova (Sochi, Russia/Chelyabinsk #8 )        FDU     So     Sochi, Russia/Chelyabinsk #8
#6  Nancy Zonneveld      LIU     So     Frankfurt, Germany/European School Frankfurt

Doubles
#1  Nicole Chis (Highland Park, N.J./Highland Park)              FDU     Fr      Highland Park, NJ/Highland Park
       Anna Rapoport (Moscow, Russia/#1239 )        FDU     Sr     Moscow, Russia/#1239
#2  Michelle Dassa        QU      So     Marlboro, NJ/Marlboro
      Jacqueline Raynor   QU      So     Garden City, NY/Garden City
#3  Dina Guzairova (Sochi, Russia/Chelyabinsk #8 )        FDU    So     Sochi, Russia/Chelyabinsk #8
       Manuela Leme (Varginha, Brazil/E.E. Antania Alves Cruz)        FDU    Jr       Varginha, Brazil/E.E. Antania Alves Cruz

2013 NEC Women's Tennis Second Team All-Conference        
 
Singles

Flt Name                         School    Yr       Hometown/High School    
#1  Sanne Louwers         LIU       So     Nuenen, Netherlands/Mgr. Cuytenlaan
#2  Taysha Blessington  LIU       Sr      Sydney, Australia/Roseville College
#3  Nicole Chis (Highland Park, N.J./Highland Park)               FDU       Fr      Highland Park, NJ/Highland Park
#4  Michelle Dassa          QU       So     Marlboro, NJ/Marlboro
#5  Aleksandra Pavlovic  LIU       Sr      Uzice, Serbia/Sports Gimnazium
#6  Ariana Launie             QU       So      Milton, MA/Milton
 
Doubles
#1  Taysha Blessington  LIU       Sr     Sydney, Australia/Roseville College
    Sanne Louwers            LIU       So    Nuenen, Netherlands/Mgr. Cuytenlaan
#2  Celine Maier (Nuremberg, Germany /Bertolt-Brecht-Schule Nuremberg)             FDU        Fr     Nuremberg, Germany/Bertolt-Brecht-Schule Nuremberg
    Egzona Morina (Prishtina, Kosovo/American School of Kosovo)            FDU       Sr     Prishtina, Kosovo/American School of Kosovo
#3  Mary Chupa                QU        Jr      Bradenton, FL/Manatee
    Ariana Launie               QU        So    Milton, MA/Milton