Year by Year Results

Women’s tennis began at Ithaca with four matches in the fall of 1968 and for 15 years the program was led by Iris Carnell. One of the pioneering figures in women’s sports at Ithaca, she won a school-record 76 matches as Bomber coach. In 1975, Carnell (who also served as the school’s assistant athletic director and coached also basketball, bowling, field hockey and golf) became the first woman inducted into the Ithaca College Athletics Hall of Fame. The award given to the outstanding female athlete in the senior class bears her name.

 

Her tennis accomplishments included three undefeated seasons (including 1973, when Ithaca won the state title and set a school record with nine wins) and six top-10 finishes at the New York State Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women championships. From 1971 to 1973 the Bombers set a school record with 12 straight wins.

 

In 1981, the team of Jo Byrnes and Pam Grayboff placed second at the NYSAIAW championships. The next year saw the inception of women’s tennis as a conference sport within the Independent College Athletic Conference (forerunner to the Emprie 8) and the Bombers won their first league title that season.

 

Lisa Brown, who compiled a career record of 48-26, Priscilla Davis (43-35) and Alice Houghton (41-30) were all top players on that 1983 team. Eight years later, they were still the program’s three winningest players.

 

Carnell stepped down as Bomber coach in 1984 and brief coaching stints by Joy Buffan, Gwen Ritchie and Mary Hosking followed. Aziz Paul Kommel was named head coach in 1989 and his four seasons were highlighted by the 1991 team. Ithaca won the ICAC title that year and tied the program’s best showing at the state championships by placing second (matching the 1981 team). At the New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association (NYSWCAA) tournament, Allison Glassman won the state title at fourth singles to become the first Ithaca player to win a state singles crown. She was joined in the winners’ circle by two NYSWCAA champion doubles teams: Cheryl Dunkiel and Julie Yanko at first doubles and Kenja Ackerman and Vicki Paul at third doubles.

 

Dunkiel set a school record with her 16-0 doubles mark in 1992. Ackerman became the school leader in career singles wins (40) and overall victories (75) and was a two-time academic all-American.

 

The 1993 season saw first-year coach Polly Hayes guide Ithaca to a record-tying 10 wins and another runner-up finish at the NYSWCAA championships. Harriet Cohen and Ilyse Frisch won the second doubles crown at the state championships and complied a school-record 17 wins. Frisch also set an Ithaca mark with 19 singles wins. Kara Grimaldi took second at sixth singles at the NYSWCAA meet. Yael Levy (91 overall wins) and Julie Yanko (83) graduated that year holding the top two spots on Ithaca’s career victory list.

 

Tim Faulkner, who spent 28 years coaching the men’s program at Ithaca, served as women’s coach from 1995 to 1998. Among the top players who competed during those years were Jaimie Daniello, Brooke Basile and Julianna Barbieri. Daniello won a Bomber-best 48 career doubles matches and was part of the 1997 NYSWCAA runner-up pairing at third doubles. Basile (72-53) and Barbieri (59-44) both rank in Ithaca’s top 10 for overall wins.

 

Ryan Witt’s two years as head coach featured 21 dual-match wins – including a record-setting 12 victories in 1999 – and the 1999 Empire 8 title (in the first year since 1994 that the conference sponsored a women’s tennis championship).

 

Bill Austin – an assistant with Ithaca’s 10-3 team in 1993 – took over as head coach in 2000. His first season saw the Bombers repeat as Empire 8 champions and raise the school record for wins in a season to 13. Following a pair of runner-up finishes at the conference championships, the team reclaimed the league crown in 2003. Meghan Carroll, a three-time first-team Empire 8 all-star, became the first Bomber to reach 100 career wins. She finished her career tied atop the career list for doubles wins (48) and alone in first place with 58 singles victories and 108 overall wins. 

The 2005 season featured another Empire 8 title behind the play of freshman Caitlin Castle, who became the second athlete in conference history to sweep the Empire 8 Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards in any sport. Austin received Coach of the Year honors after leading Ithaca to its second conference title in three years.