SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced the individual awards and all-conference teams for the 2018 men’s tennis season today (April 18). UNCG’s Connor Thompson has been named the league’s Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. Furman’s Ivan Mitric was tabbed the league’s Freshman of the Year and Mercer’s Eric Hayes was named the league’s Coach of the Year. Chattanooga’s Niklas Gerdes has earned the league’s Don Bunch/Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award. Postseason balloting was conducted by the league’s head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes.
Thompson becomes the third player in six years to win the award in consecutive years and is the third Spartan to win Player of the Year honors, joining Alex Lehnhoff (1999) and Orcun Seyrek (2009 and 2012). Thompson is 16-4 this spring at No. 1 singles and completed a perfect 7-0 mark in conference play. Thompson and teammate Nico Grewe were 7-2 at No. 1 doubles and 3-2 in league contests.
Mitric was named Freshman of the Year after posting an 14-8 record in singles play, including a 5-2 mark in conference matches. He is the fifth Paladin to earn the award and first since Adam Steryous in 2014. The Toronto, Ontario, native paired with Drew Singerman, splitting time at flight two and flight three doubles. The two combined to post a 9-6 record in doubles action.
Hayes was named the Coach of the Year by his peers, earning the award for the first time in his Mercer career. He is also the first Mercer coach to earn the award. Hayes guided the Bears to a 15-6 overall record this spring, a 5-1 mark in conference play and the No. 2 seed in this week’s Southern Conference Men’s Tennis Championship. Hayes led three players to postseason awards this season.
Gerdes is the sixth Moc, and third in the past four years, to win the Don Bunch/Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award. The sophomore finished the regular season with a 10-11 mark at No. 1 singles.
ETSU’s Sergi Fontcuberta and Robert Herrera were named to the all-conference first team. Fontcuberta finished the season with a perfect 7-0 record at the No. 3 singles spot and a 12-3 record overall, while Herrera tallied a 13-5 record at flight one singles, including a 5-2 record in SoCon play. Furman’s Cameron Green was also named to the first team, marking his third consecutive selection, while Mercer’s Sam Philp earned his second consecutive first-team honor. Player of the Year Thompson and 2017 Freshman of the Year Olivier Stuart of Mercer rounded out the first-team singles selections.
Furman’s Green and Jake Munns were named first-team all-conference selections in doubles and were joined by Mercer’s Philp and Stuart, along with UNCG’s Thompson and Grewe.
Second-team all-conference selections are made based on position. Wofford was the only program to place two on the second team, as Lucas Cerbelli earned the nod at No. 1 singles and Edu Villar was chosen at No. 3. UNCG’s Ollie Palmer placed at No. 2, Mercer’s Fernando Guardia earned the nod at No. 4 and Samford’s Aleksandar Petrovic (No. 5) and ETSU’s Miguel Este (No. 6) rounded out the second-team selections.
Samford’s Jake Faundez and Eduardo Lourido were selected for No. 1 doubles on the second team, while UNCG’s Marcus Vidgren and Logan Walker were chosen at No. 2. ETSU’s Fontcuberta and David Gonzales earned the nod at No. 3.
The coaches also selected an All-Freshman Team. Mitric was joined on the team by UNCG’s Palmer, who posted a 4-0 record in conference play at No. 2 singles. Samford and Wofford both placed two on the all-freshman team. The Bulldogs were represented by Aleksandar Petrovic and Rossouw Norval, while Wofford placed Villar and Omar Williams on the rookie squad.
The 2018 Southern Conference Men’s Tennis Championship begins Friday (April 20) in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
2018 SoCon Men’s Tennis Postseason Awards
First Team
Singles
Sergi Fontcuberta, ETSU
Robert Herrera, ETSU
Cameron Green, Furman
Sam Philp, Mercer
Olivier Stuart, Mercer
Connor Thompson, UNCG
Doubles
Cameron Green/Jake Munns, Furman
Sam Philp/Olivier Stuart, Mercer
Connor Thompson/Nico Grewe, UNCG
Second Team
Singles (by position)
No. 1 – Lucas Cerbelli, Wofford
No. 2 – Ollie Palmer, UNCG
No. 3 – Edu Villar, Wofford
No. 4 – Fernando Guardia, Mercer
No. 5 – Aleksandar Petrovic, Samford
No. 6 – Miguel Este, ETSU
Doubles (by position)
No. 1 – Jake Faundez/Eduardo Lourido, Samford
No. 2 – Marcus Vidgren/Logan Walker, UNCG
No. 3 – Sergi Fontcuberta/David Gonzalez, ETSU
All-Freshman
Ivan Mitric, Furman
Oliver Palmer, UNCG
Aleksandar Petrovic, Samford
Rossouw Norval, Samford
Edu Villar, Wofford
Omar Williams, Wofford
Player of the Year
Connor Thompson, UNCG
Freshman of the Year
Ivan Mitric, Furman
Don Bunch/Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award
Niklas Gerdes, Chattanooga
Coach of the Year
Eric Hayes, Mercer