Stevens' Marc Feliu Gomez Named E8 Player and Rookie of the Year as Men's Tennis Honors are Released

5/13/2019 11:21:04 AM

Stevens' freshman Marc Feliu Gomez was named the Empire 8 Conference's Men's Tennis Player and Rookie of the Year as the league announced its major awards and all-conference teams this morning. Gomez helped lead the Ducks to their tenth consecutive E8 title this spring.

To see all those that were honored, please see below. Houghton led all programs as the regular-season champion Highlanders had six student-athletes named All-Conference. Stevens had five all-conference honorees. All the awards are selected by the league's head coaches.

CLOSER LOOK
Stevens' Marc Feliu Gomez was outstanding for the Ducks in his first year. The freshman posted a 16-8 mark in singles play, and combined with a pair of partners to record a remarkable 28-3 record in doubles action. Recognized as both the conference's top player and its top rookie, he did not lose a match in conference play this spring and posted convincing wins at No. 1 singles and doubles in Stevens' E8 title win over Houghton last weekend. He was honored as a First Team All-Conference selection in both singles and doubles action as well.

Tonya McGraner was selected by her peers as the E8 Coach of the Year. In her first season at Houghton, McGraner helped lead the Highlanders to a perfect 7-0 mark in conference, including posting the first-ever win over Stevens by an E8 program in league history. For the season, Houghton finished with a mark of 11-5 after advancing to the E8 Championship Final. Six of McGraner's student-athletes were recognized as All-Conference selections, five of which earned the honor in both singles and doubles play. 

Player of the Year - Marc Feliu Gomez, Stevens
Rookie of the Year - Marc Feliu Gomez, Stevens
Coach of the Year - Tonya McGraner, Houghton

1st Team All-Conference - Singles 
Jake Fisler, Houghton
Louis-Guillaume Garcia, Houghton
Zach Shilvock, Houghton
John Miller, St. John Fisher
Marc Feliu Gomez, Stevens
Mark Kanevsky, Stevens

1st Team All-Conference - Doubles 
Louis-Guillaume Garcia / Jake Fisler, Houghton
Jon Harper / Dustin McCullough, St. John Fisher
Marc Feliu Gomez / Bryan Szayna, Stevens 

2nd Team All-Conference - Singles
Peter Smock, Alfred
Dylan Scherer, Houghton
Ethan Yung, Houghton
Dustin McCullough, St. John Fisher
Garrett Kincaid, Stevens 
Arjun Krishnan, Stevens 

2nd Team All-Conference - Doubles
Zach Shilvock / Dylan Scherer, Houghton
Ethan Yung / Ethan Baker, Houghton
John Miller / Jarrett Pelton, St. John Fisher

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR TEAM
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2019 Men's Tennis Sportsman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen. 

Sportsman of the Year 
Kyle Kemper, Alfred
Jordan Curtis, Elmira
Zachary Shilvock, Houghton
Patrick Dowdle, Nazareth
Ryan Burke, Sage 
John Miller, St. John Fisher
Arjun Krishnan, Stevens
Paul Litvak, Utica

ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit www.empire8.com and https://youtu.be/wzL4HcDoUUQ