Men's Tennis All-Conference and Yearly Awards Announced
Stevens Institute of Technology men’s tennis freshman
Matthew Heinrich was named the Empire 8 Athletic Conference Player and Rookie of the Year and Head Coach
Steve Gachko was named the Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive season.
2013 Empire 8 Men's Tennis All-Conference Teams
Heinrich, did not lose a conference match all season at first singles and first doubles with partner Chris Rosensteel. To date, Heinrich is 23-5 overall in singles play and ranked 13th in the Northeast in singles. In his rookie campaign he has managed impressive wins over No. 1 and No. 2 singles players of nationally ranked programs including Bowdoin, Swarthmore, MIT, Skidmore, Middlebury, TCNJ and regionally ranked Rochester, NYU and Haverford.
Gachko and Heinrich helped lead the Ducks to their third straight undefeated conference record and won an unprecendented fourth straight Empire 8 Championship. Heinrich was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player after posting victories in all four of his matches between first doubles and singles. The rookie teamed with Rosensteel to post 8-2 and 8-1 wins over St. John Fisher College and Ithaca College and swept both his singles match, 6-0, 6-0 to cap a spectacular first year.
Heinrich made Duck history as the doubles duo became the first players to make the NCAA Men's Tennis Individual Championship. Heinrich and Rosensteel made the tournament tournament, by virtue of being ranked in the top four duos in the Northeast region. The top 32 singles players (eight from each region) and 16 doubles pairings (four from each region) make up the Championship field. The Ducks' pairing ranked as high as No. 3 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Rankings (which are not considered in NCAA selection) this season and finished the regular season at No. 4 with an 18-3 record, including wins over mutliple top-30 teams.
Stevens defeated Baruch College, 5-0, to advance to their fourth straight NCAA Championship Second Round, where they will face No. 22 University of Mary Washington (14-10) tomorrow, Friday, May 10 at 9 a.m.