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University of Massachusets Athletics
Spiess And Pozar Rack Up Atlantic 10 Postseason Awards
May 01, 2007 | Tennis
May 1, 2007
AMHERST, Mass. - UMass women's tennis co-captains Michele Spiess and Masha Pozar were honored by the Atlantic 10 on Tuesday for their accomplishments on the court and in the classroom. Spiess and Pozar were both named to the All-Conference first team and to the Academic All-Conference team. Spiess also received Student-Athlete of the Year honors. This is the third straight year for Spiess and Pozar being named first team All-Conference.
The co-captains were the only two student-athletes named to the All-Conference first team and Academic All-Conference team.
Senior Michele Spiess captured first-team All Conference, Academic All-Conference, and Student-Athlete of the Year. She ended her collegiate career on top. She broke the UMass all-time singles wins record on April 11 against Quinnipiac. The win marked her 64th career win, breaking Jackie Braunstein's eight-year record. Spiess accomplished the feat in only three seasons playing at primarily the No. 1 position. She transferred from Louisville after freshman year.
Spiess finished the season with a 19-9 singles record and 22-11 doubles record. She was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week three times. Last season, she won A-10 Player of the Year. She finished her UMass career with a 67-18 singles record and 58-25 doubles record, which is good for third in school history.
Spiess has enjoyed unparalleled success in the classroom as well. The Hotel and Tourism Management major carries a GPA of 3.83. Last season she was named an ITA Scholar-Athlete and to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-District At-Large Second Team. She also garnered the prestigious UMass Spring-Scholar Athlete award.
Not to be forgotten, fellow captain Masha Pozar captured first-team All Conference and Academic All-Conference. The junior had a tremendous season, finishing with a team-high 21 singles wins (versus only 11 losses). She also went 16-13 in doubles action. . Pozar has made the All-Conference team every season of her collegiate career. She will enter her senior season in tenth place in singles wins (50-29 record) and fifth in doubles wins (50-27). Ironically, next season she looks to break the UMass singles wins record broken by Michele Spiess this season.
The success carried over to the classroom as well as Pozar has compiled a 3.78 GPA in Journalism. This marks the first time Pozar has been named to the Academic All-Conference team.
The Minutewomen finished the season with their fifth straight top-four finish in the Atlantic 10. They have finished in the top four nine of the last ten seasons.