Tennis Announces 2021 Team Awards

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers tennis has announced its team award recipients for the 2020-21 season. In a year filled with adversity, the program powered through to record the most Big Ten victories in a singles season and its first Big Ten Tournament appearance. 

RU recorded victories over Michigan State, Indiana and two over Maryland this spring. In a slate that featured multiple ranked opponents, the Scarlet Knights recorded 30 doubles victories and 16 singles victories across dual and tournament action. In the classroom, all six student-athletes who were eligible this semester earned Academic All-Big Ten accolades, boosting a team term GPA of 3.788.

The trio of Jaci Cochrane, Tess Fisher and Maya Jacobs played vital roles in the Scarlet Knights success this spring and over the years, as each claimed a 2020-21 team award.

JACI COCHRANE | TEAM MVP

This year's MVP, elected in a team vote, goes to redshirt senior Jaci Cochrane. The Fort Dodge, Iowa, native recorded a singles win in all four historic Big Ten victories this season, the most conference wins for Rutgers in a single season since joining the league. She also contributed to the doubles point in three of those wins. 

Overall, Cochrane tied for the team lead with five singles victories and second on the squad with six doubles wins on the year. With teammate Daira Cardenas, Cochrane helped secure the team doubles point in a total of five matches, including the team doubles point against No. 15 Michigan. 

The 2020 Chi Alpha Sigma Inductee earned her fourth Academic All-Big Ten accolade this spring. Cochrane has also claimed the 2017 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for the program and a Big Ten Athlete of the Week recognition in 2018. 

TESS FISHER | TEAM GRIT AWARD

The team’s Grit Award, which is presented to the person who demonstrates hard work in all training and competitions, goes to junior Tess Fisher. The Vineland, New Jersey contributed to a team-high seven doubles victories with teammate Alisa Prinyarux, securing the team’s double point in the four historic wins. 

In the program’s first of two Maryland wins this year, Fisher helped claim the team doubles point before clinching the match at the No. 2 singles spot with a strong 6-4, 6-0 win. Her performance in the victory, which at the time set the program record for most league wins in a season, earned Fisher Big Ten Athlete of the Week accolades. The junior added three-set singles wins in the defeat of Indiana and against Penn State, showing true grit in three-set matchups six times on the year.

The psychology major earned her second Academic All-Big Ten accolade this spring. 

MAYA JACOBS | TEAM SCARLET AND BLACK AWARD

The team's Scarlet and Black Award, awarded to the person who continues to lift the team up with their positive RU spirit, goes to Maya Jacobs. The Linden, New Jersey, native led Rutgers in the No. 1 singles and doubles spot. Battling through an injury at the start of the season, Jacobs remained a strong motivator for the team vocally and by example at the top spot in the lineup against the nation’s best. 

Through a hard slate of competition, Jacobs held strong in every match, clinching the first Big Ten win of the season over Michigan State with victory in singles. She added three singles wins and two doubles victories on the year, including a doubles win against No. 15 Michigan. 

Jacobs, the 2021 NJAIAW Woman of the Year for Rutgers, added this year’s Big Ten Sportsmanship award and her third Academic All-Big Ten recognition to her resume this spring. A member of the Rutgers Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Jacobs is an advocate for her teammates and fellow student-athletes, including working to address issues of racial and social justice.