Men's Tennis | 5/11/2021 9:57:10 AM
Houghton College senior Ethan Yung was named Empire 8 Player of the Year honors, while teammate Levi Webb was named Rookie of the Year as the league announced its 2021 Men’s Tennis All-Conference awards on Tuesday, May 11. Houghton head coach Tonya McGraner was named Coach of the Year. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Houghton led the way with five student-athletes who earned first team selections, while runner-up Nazareth had the other three spots. Yung, Jake Fisler and Micah Schilke from Houghton and Nazareth’s Nathan Allen garnered first honors in both singles and doubles.
Yung recorded a perfect 8-0 record at first singles and an 8-0 mark with Webb at second doubles during Empire 8 regular season play. Yung won both singles and doubles matches in the E8 Tournament as well. Overall, Yung enters the NCAA Championship with an 11-2 mark in singles and is 10-0 with Webb in doubles play.
Webb earned Rookie of the Year honors after going 4-1 in league play at the fifth singles position, while partnering with Yung for a perfect 8-0 mark at second doubles during Empire 8 regular season play. The duo won both doubles matches in the E8 Tournament as well.
McGraner was named 2021 Empire 8 Coach of the Year after leading Houghton to its first Empire 8 Championship. The Highlanders went 8-0 overall in league play, before defeating Alfred and Nazareth in the Empire 8 Tournament to claim the title and earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Championship, which begins this weekend. Seven Houghton student-athletes earned All-Empire 8 accolades in 2021. It is McGraner’s second straight Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year award.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2021 Empire 8 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.
2021 Empire 8 Men’s Tennis All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Ethan Yung, Sr., Houghton
Rookie of the Year: Levi Webb, Fr., Houghton
Coaching of the Year: Tonya McGraner, Houghton
Empire 8 First Team – Singles
Matt Cicero, Jr., Houghton
Jake Fisler, Sr., Houghton
Micah Schilke, So., Houghton
Ethan Yung, Sr., Houghton
Nathan Allen, So., Nazareth
Isiah McMurray, Fr., Nazareth
Empire 8 First Team – Doubles
Jake Fisler, Sr./Micah Schilke, So., Houghton
Ethan Yung, Sr.,/Levi Webb, Fr., Houghton
Nathan Allen, So./Tommy Daviau, Jr., Nazareth
Empire 8 Second Team – Singles
Wes Dennison, So., Alfred
Levi Webb, Fr., Houghton
Will Britton, Jr., Nazareth
Dominic Vito, Jr., Nazareth
Tyler Luong, Sr., Nazareth
Sean Danahy, So., St. John Fisher
Jordan O’Connell, Sr., St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Second Team – Doubles
Isaac Little, Fr./Ryan Brown, Sr., Alfred
Sam Cohen, Fr./Wes Dennison, So., Alfred
Adam Brown, So./Ben McKay, Sr., Houghton
Dominic Vito, Jr./Ryan Lalik, Jr., Nazareth
Cameron Campbell, Jr./Sean Danahy, So., St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
Adam Shearer, Sr., Alfred
Ben McKay, Sr., Houghton
Dominic Vito, Jr., Nazareth
Cameron Campbell, Jr., St. John Fisher
Austin McGrain, So., Utica