Women's Tennis

TCNJ's Dakos, Kean's Leonardis, TCNJ Staff Earn Major Awards as NJAC Women's Tennis All-Conference Announced

PITMAN, NJ --- The College of New Jersey senior Eleni Dakos (Towaco, NJ/Newark Academy) has been named the 2025-26 NJAC Women's Tennis Player of the Year to headline the all-conference team, announced on April 23.
 
Kean University freshman Angela Leonardis (Roselle Park, NJ/Roselle Park) was tabbed the conference's Rookie of the Year, while TCNJ head coach Scott Dicheck and his staff were voted the league's Flo Labenski Coaching Staff of the Year.
 
Their selections highlighted the 2025-26 NJAC Women's Tennis All-Conference Team. All NJAC special awards and all-conference honors were determined by a vote of the league's head coaches and are based on regular season conference-only results.
 
Dakos capped her senior year with a dominant season at the No. 1 singles position, going undefeated in conference singles play. She defeated opponents at Kean, William Paterson, Rutgers-Camden, and Stockton in NJAC action, and went 16-2 overall. Dakos also knocked off a regionally ranked opponent, defeating her opponent at No. 30 Haverford 6-3, 6-1. In doubles, Dakos teamed with fellow all-conference honoree Gabrielle Brideau to go undefeated in conference doubles play, winning all four of their NJAC doubles matches, and went 16-2 overall at the No. 2 doubles spot.
 
Leonardis made an immediate impression at the No. 1 singles position for Kean as one of the top freshmen in the conference. She won three of her four conference singles matches, defeating opponents at William Paterson, Stockton, and Rutgers-Camden, with her lone conference loss coming against Dakos — the Player of the Year — at TCNJ. Across her full season, seven of her nine singles wins came in straight sets, including four by 6-0, 6-0 scores. She finished the regular season with a 9-1 overall singles record. In doubles, she went 2-2 in conference play, picking up wins at William Paterson and Stockton. She paired primarily with teammate Ashley Mendoza-Tarazona, with the duo going 6-2 overall. Leonardis was a two-time NJAC Rookie of the Week.
 
TCNJ head coach Scott Dicheck and assistants Glenn Michibata, Michael Klimchak, Mark Riches, and Matthew Michibata were selected by their peers as the Flo Labenski Coaching Staff of the Year. Dicheck and staff guided the Lions to another dominant conference season, producing six of the eight All-Conference Singles honorees and six of the eight All-Conference Doubles honorees. TCNJ has never lost a conference match since the program's inception in 1982, and this season extended that remarkable streak to 219 consecutive conference wins. The Lions also defeated three ranked opponents this season, including #30 Haverford, #35 Stevens, and #40 Skidmore, including a 7-0 sweep of Stevens.
 
NJAC WOMEN'S TENNIS ALL-CONFERENCE

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Eleni Dakos, TCNJ

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Angela Leonardis, Kean

FLO LABENSKI COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR
TCNJ
(Scott Dicheck, Glenn Michibata, Michael Klimchak, Mark Riches, Matthew Michibata)

 
ALL-CONFERENCE SINGLES
Name School Yr. Hometown/High School
Gabby Albert Rutgers-Camden FR Greenwich, NJ/Cumberland Regional
Zoey Albert*+ TCNJ JR Millers Creek, NC/Acellus Academy
Gabrielle Brideau* TCNJ SO Montréal, Québec/Saddlebrook Prep (FL)
Eleni Dakos TCNJ SR Towaco, NJ/Newark Academy
Angela Leonardis Kean FR Roselle Park, NJ/Roselle Park
Shruti Mannan* TCNJ SO Marlton, NJ/Cherokee
Elizabeth Ring TCNJ SO Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo
Gabriella Robinson* TCNJ JR Sicklerville, NJ/Winslow Township
           
           
ALL-CONFERENCE DOUBLES   
Name School Yr. Hometown/High School
Bella Albert Rutgers-Camden FR Greenwich, NJ/Cumberland Regional
Gabby Albert Rutgers-Camden FR Greenwich, NJ/Cumberland Regional
           
Zoey Albert^~ TCNJ JR Millers Creek, NC/Acellus Academy
Shruti Mannan^ TCNJ SO Marlton, NJ/Cherokee
            
Gabrielle Brideau TCNJ SO Montréal, Québec/Saddlebrook Prep (FL)
Eleni Dakos TCNJ SR Towaco, NJ/Newark Academy
           
Elizabeth Ring TCNJ SO Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo
Gabriella Robinson~ TCNJ JR Sicklerville, NJ/Winslow Township