Lily Ganjbaksh, a sophomore from Potomac, Maryland and a Winston Churchill High School product, was named United East Conference Player of the Week for women’s tennis for the second straight week, the league office announced Tuesday. It’s the fifth career weekly honor for Ganjbaksh, who was also recognized last week and picked up her fourth career award at that time, per the Chronicle’s prior coverage.
The award comes despite a tough result for the team. St. Mary’s College fell 4-3 at The Catholic University of America on Sept. 19, and Ganjbaksh was at the center of the Seahawks’ best stretch of the match. She opened by teaming with Katherine Yao for a 6-4 win over Ella Knox and Meaghan Laniewski at No. 1 doubles, then followed with a 6-1, 7-6 (3) singles win over Annie Nemoy at No. 1, giving St. Mary’s a 3-1 lead before Catholic rallied to take the final three points and the match.
The loss drops St. Mary’s to 0-1 on the young fall season. It’s the first competitive match of the year for a program that finished last spring as United East runner-up, a run in which Ganjbaksh also factored heavily — she was named the conference’s Player of the Week in March after dropping just four games combined across wins over York College and Goucher College, part of a spring that saw the conference recognize four St. Mary’s standouts at season’s end.
St. Mary’s returns to action Friday through Monday, Sept. 25-28, when the Seahawks compete at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southeast Regionals, hosted by the University of Mary Washington.
2026-27 United East Conference Women’s Tennis Players of the Week
| Date | Player | Team | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 15 | Lily Ganjbaksh | St. Mary’s College | So. |
| Sept. 22 | Lily Ganjbaksh | St. Mary’s College | So. |
