Xavier University Athletics
Xavier Tallies Eight Awards From Atlantic 10
03.01.01 | Women's Basketball
Senior Jennifer Phillips (Elida, Ohio/Elida) was named Player of the Year, and was joined on the All-Atlantic 10 First Team by her classmates Nicole Levandusky (Palmerton, Pa./Palmerton) and Taru Tuukkanen (Helsinki, Finland). It marks the first time in league history that three teammates were named First Team All-Conference.
Levandusky was also named Defensive Player of the Year and Tuukkanen was named to the All-Academic Team. Balcomb was tabbed as Coach of the Year and sophomore guard Reetta Piipari (Kotka, Finland) was named to the All-Conference Second Team.
Phillips, a 6-foot-3 forward, was named Player of the Year for posting averages of 16.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. She leads the Atlantic 10 and is fifth in country with a .621 field goal percentage, and is third in the A-10 for scoring. Phillips, a three-time honoree as Player of the Week this season, shot .678 from the field in conference games. She was a two-time All-Atlantic 10 Second Team member after being named to the All-Rookie Team as a freshman.
Phillips is the third Xavier athlete to win Player of the Year in the school?s six years in the Atlantic 10.
Women?s soccer player Amanda Gruber (Cincinnati/St. Ursula) won the honor in 1997 and volleyball player Sara Bachus (Cincinnati/Seton) was tabbed as Player of the Year this past fall.
Levandusky, a 5-9 guard, was named to the First Team for the second consecutive year after averaging 15.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 3.4 steals per game. She was named Defensive Player of the Year on the strength of her league-leading steals per game average that is also good for 16th in the country. Levandusky is Xavier?s career record holder for steals and three pointers. She has 93 thefts this season, seven shy of the single-season record she set as a junior.
Tuukkanen, a 6-foot-3 center, also earned her second straight All-Conference First Team honor after leading Xavier in scoring (20.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.9 rpg) for the third time in her career. She is second in the league with 10 double-doubles this season. Tuukkanen, a Verizon District IV Academic All American, was named to the All-Academic Team for her 3.56 GPA as a sport management major.
Piipari, a 5-7 guard, was named to the A-10 Second Team after leading the nation in assists for the season with 8.7 per game. In her first year as starting point guard, Piipari tallied eight points-assists double-doubles. Her 234 assists this year is the second-best single-season in Xavier history.
Balcomb won Coach of the Year for the first time in her career. Xavier?s 25-2 record puts Xavier one win away from tying the best-ever win total. This is the third straight 20 win season for the Musketeers who are working toward their third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. Balcomb, who recorded her 100th win at Xavier this season, is 117-58 overall in her sixth season at Xavier.
At the reception, Levandusky, Phillips and Tuukkanen were joined by fellow seniors Erin Hall (Westerville, Ohio/North) and Jennifer Parr (Carlisle, Ohio/Carlisle) to accept the trophy as regular season champions on behalf of the team.
The Musketeers will begin play in the Verizon Atlantic 10 Tournament on Saturday at Temple?s Liacouras Center. Xavier will play the winner of Friday?s Massachusetts-Rhode Island game in the quarterfinals at noon Saturday. Xavier, the defending tournament champion, has advanced to the semifinals in each of the past three seasons.
