Box Score
 
HARLINGEN, TX—The NJIT women's tennis team captured its second straight Great West Conference title topping second-seeded Seattle, 4-1, at the 2012 Great West Conference Women's Tennis Championships at the HEB Center hosted by Texas-Pan American.
 
NJIT, who finished with a school-record 21 wins, becomes the first team to win back-to-back conference championships in the program's sixth season competing at the Division I level under head coach Mike Sowter.
 
Last season the Highlanders finished with a 17-8 overall mark.
 
Sophomore Ksenia Kuzmenko and junior Monika Graff were named to the GWC first team while rookie Carolina Zanotta was recognized on the GWC second team and named GWC Newcomer of the Year.
 
The Highlanders earned the first point of the match taking the first two doubles contests.  Senior Nina Mayevska, playing in her last collegiate match and sophomore Jana Luste blanked Seattle's Katrina Schwab and Corinne Wurden.  Graff and Zanotta teamed for an 8-3 victory at third doubles over Lindsey Newman and Gabriella Weissmann.
 
Kuzmenko, Luste and Zanotta were double-winners on the day picking up victories in singles competition.  Kuzmenko was a 6-3, 7-5 winner at the first spot over Seattle's Schwab. 
 
Luste, competing at fourth singles won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0 over Weissmann and Zanotta followed at fifth singles taking Wurden by identical scores, 6-1, 6-1.
 
Graff, from Lohmar, Germany, finished with a team-leading 23-4 overall record in her second season at NJIT.  Graff went 15-2 at third singles, 2-0 at the second spot, 1-0 at fourth singles and 6-2 in tournament play.
 
Zanotta, from Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil, closed out her first season at NJIT with a 23-4 overall record.  Zanotta went 12-2 at fifth singles, 5-0 at the fourth spot and 5-1 in tournament play.
 
Luste, from Riga, Latvia, finished the 2012 season with a 20-3 overall record, 15-2 dual record and 4-1 in tournament play.  Luste went 9-1 at fourth singles, 1-0 at the third spot and 6-1 at second singles for NJIT.

Kuzmenko, from Moscow, Russia, finished with a 19-9 overall record (15-7 at first singles and 4-2 in tournament play).
 
Two different Highlanders completed the season with 18 total wins – Mayevska (8-5 at second singles, 3-0 at the second spot, 3-1 at fourth singles and 3-2 in tournament play) and Martina Tripcovici (10-0 at sixth singles, 4-0 at fourth spot and 3-1 at fifth singles while posting a 5-1 tournament record).

In doubles action, Luste and Mayevksa combined for a 20-5 overall record (16-4 at the first spot and 4-1 in tournament play).  Kuzmenko and Hannelore MacDonald registered a 17-5 doubles record (13-5 at second spot and 3-0 in tournament play) while Graff and Zanotta went 14-4 overall (13-4 at third spot and 1-0 in tournament play).
 
The Highlanders close out the 2012 season with a 21-3 overall record and 10-0 mark at home at The Naimoli Family Athletic and Recreational Facility.  NJIT also held a 14-match win streak from February 12 (4-3 win over Pittsburgh) to April 10 (4-3 loss at Stony Brook).