Ducks Sweep Major Awards; Heinrich, Sarthak and Gachko Honored
The Empire 8 Athletic Conference has announced the
2016 Men’s Tennis All-Conference teams, as voted on by the conference’s coaches. In addition, the Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year have been selected.
Player of the Year: Matthew Heinrich, Stevens
The Empire 8 Player of the Year Award is going back to Hoboken, NJ, for a sixth straight time, as senior Matthew Heinrich took home the league’s top honor. With the award, Heinrich becomes the first player in the conference’s history to be named the E8 Player of the Year four consecutive times; former Stevens standout Chris Rosensteel claimed the league’s top honor in back-to-back seasons in 2011 and 2012. Heinrich helped lead Stevens to an unprecedented seventh consecutive E8 title last weekend, securing the team’s auto-bid into the 2016 NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championship. The Hendersonville, TN, native boasts a phenomenal 31-4 record (14-2 singles, 17-2 doubles) and enters the NCAA Tournament as the country’s 11th-ranked singles player and is half of the nation’s 18th-ranked doubles tandem along with partner Ben Foran.
Rookie of the Year: Divin Sarthak, Stevens
Divin Sarthak of Stevens was named the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, after posting an 11-1 combined record on the 2016 season. Sarthak held down the fifth position in the Stevens singles lineup for a good part of the year, going 6-0, while his doubles record stands at 5-1, including a 2-0 mark at the No. 2 position. He was flawless in conference matches, logging a 5-0 mark in singles and a 4-0 record in doubles.
Coach of the Year: Steve Gachko, Stevens
Since 2010, the Empire 8 Coach of the Year Award has lived just off the shores of the Hudson River in Hoboken, NJ. This year’s award will be going back to the Garden State, as Stevens Head Coach Steve Gachko claimed a record –setting seventh consecutive Coach of the Year accolade. Gachko guided Stevens to an 18-7 overall record and a flawless showing in E8 matches en route to a seventh straight conference title.