TROY, N.Y. – Senior Gracie Nicol and first-year Luisa Arizpe-Sierra both earned All-Liberty League honors while head coach Brian Bowman and his staff were recognized as the Liberty League Co-Coaching Staff of the Year, the conference office announced on Tuesday morning.
 
Nicol earns All-Conference honors for the third straight season with a spot on the second team, the second singles honor of her career and her fourth All-League selection overall, while Arizpe-Sierra is recognized an honorable mention in singles. Bowman, meanwhile, heads up the first coaching staff in Union tennis history (men's or women's) to be recognized by the conference.
 
Nicol held down the first-singles spot for almost the entire season for the Garnet Chargers, posting a 6-11 mark at the top flight and a 10-17 record overall in singles play. The senior was challenged in almost every match by some of the best players in the country during conference play, including five matches against nationally or regionally ranked opposition. Her season highlight came in the first round of the Liberty League Tournament, when she knocked off nationally ranked Angelica Aksdal-Jansen in three sets to provide the clinching point in Union's 5-4 victory over St. Lawrence University.
 
Arizpe-Sierra had a fantastic rookie season for Union as well, posting a 7-1 mark in Liberty League play and a 15-2 mark in dual matches. Her 17 singles victories overall are the most by a first-year in program history, surpassing the 16 of program wins leader Lauren Stellato '04 in 2000-01. After starting the year with a 9-2 mark at third singles, she moved up to the second flight and won her last five matches of the year, including a pair of wins over players from #40 Vassar College and #38 Skidmore College. She also picked up a key 7-5, 6-3 win in Union's Liberty League Tournament first-round victory over St. Lawrence. Arizpe-Sierra also tied for the team lead in doubles wins this season, giving her a team-best 30 victories in her first collegiate season.
 
Bowman and his staff have guided the Garnet Chargers to the best two-year stretch in program history, including a program-record 11 victories and the team's first postseason triumph since 2003 during the 2023-24 season. The 11 wins surpassed the previous record of nine that was matched twice during his tenure in Schenectady and gave Union back-to-back winning campaigns for the first time since 1999 and 2000. Union also earned the first national ranking in program history with a #50 rank from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and was regionally ranked by the NCAA in every ranking this spring.
 
Despite Nicol's graduation, Union is slated to return six of its seven lineup regulars in 2024-25 as the Garnet Chargers will look to improve on this year's success and make another run in the Liberty League Tournament.