ALFRED, NY – Rachel Cook (Youngstown, OH/Laurel Springs), a junior on the Alfred University women's tennis team, has been named Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week.

Cook was honored for her play in four matches last week (all AU wins), in which she went unbeaten in all eight of her singles and doubles matches. She was 4-0 in second singles and 4-0 with junior Emma Jackson (Wellsville, NY/Wellsville) in first doubles, as AU defeated Fredonia, St. John Fisher, Utica and Oswego.

The Empire 8 wins over Fisher and Utica game AU a 5-3 record in the final conference standings and a berth in the four-team league championship tournament. It marks the first time AU has qualified for the conference tournament since the Empire 8 adopted a four-team championship format. The winner of the tournament earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III championships.

Alfred (7-5 overall) plays this weekend (Oct. 10-12) in the New York State championships in Ithaca. The Empire 8 Conference championships will be held Oct. 18 and 19 at top-seeded host Stevens Institute of Technology. AU is the fourth seed and will play Stevens in one semifinal match Oct. 18; second seed Ithaca takes on third seed Elmira in the other semifinal. The winners play for the conference crown Oct. 19.