Men's Tennis | 5/13/2024 1:55:36 PM
Houghton University senior Levi Webb and St. John Fisher University freshman Tyler Hernandez shared Empire 8 Player of the Year honors, while Hernandez was also named Rookie of the Year as the league announced its 2024 Men’s Tennis All-Conference awards on Monday, May 13. Houghton head coach Matthew Webb was named Coach of the Year. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Houghton led the way with four student-athletes who earned first team selections, while Nazareth University and St. John Fisher each garnered a pair first team spots. Houghton’s Micah Schilke earned All-Empire 8 first team singles accolades for the fourth straight season, while Webb garnered first team honors in doubles for the fourth straight year.
Webb finished 6-0 in league play at the second singles position, while partnering with Nolan Zach to finish 8-0 at first doubles during Empire 8 regular season play. In addition, Webb was named the Empire 8 Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player after leading the Highlanders to the 2024 E8 title. Webb finished 9-2 in singles play during the season, while also winning nine doubles matches. Webb is the fourth straight Houghton student-athlete to earn Player of the Year honors, joining Jaimie Staerkle (2023), Schilke (2022) and Ethan Yung (2021).
Hernandez finished 5-1 in league play at both first doubles and at first doubles with teammate Will Chubb during the season. Hernandez is the second player in league history to earn Player and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season, joining Matthew Heinrich of Stevens, who was honored in 2013. Hernandez is the first Cardinals student-athlete to earn E8 Men’s Tennis Player of the Year honors and second to garner Rookie of the Year honors, joining Aaron Haak (2005).
Matthew Webb was named 2024 Empire 8 Coach of the Year after leading Houghton to its second consecutive Empire 8 Championship and third in the last four seasons. The Highlanders went 6-0 overall in league play and rolled to the league title with a shutout win over Alfred University and 5-1 victory over Nazareth in the 2024 E8 Tournament. Seven Houghton student-athletes earned All-Empire 8 accolades in 2024. It is Matthew Webb’s second Empire 8 Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year award (2018) and marks the sixth straight season that a Houghton coach has earned this honor.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2024 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.
2024 Empire 8 Men’s Tennis All-Conference Selections
Co-Player of the Year: Levi Webb, Sr., Houghton
Co-Player of the Year: Tyler Hernandez, Fr., St. John Fisher
Rookie of the Year: Tyler Hernandez, Fr., St. John Fisher
Coaching Staff of the Year: Houghton, led by Head Coach Matthew Webb
Empire 8 First Team – Singles
Micah Schilke, Gr., Houghton (Houghton, NY/Fillmore)
Levi Webb, Sr., Houghton (Houghton, NY/Fillmore)
Nolan Zach, Jr., Houghton (Penfield, NY/Penfield)
Griffin Bond, Jr., Nazareth (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua)
Noah Britton, Jr., Nazareth (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont)
Tyler Hernandez, Fr., St. John Fisher (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park)
Empire 8 First Team – Doubles
Levi Webb, Sr./Nolan Zach, Jr., Houghton
Micah Schilke, Sr./Graham Cook, Jr., Houghton
Tyler Hernandez, Fr./Will Chubb, So., St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Second Team – Singles
Graham Cook, Jr., Houghton (Painted Post, NY/Home School)
Preston Tobolski, Fr., Houghton (Oakfield, NY/Oakfield-Alabama)
Chris Benedict, So., Nazareth (Brockport, NY/Brockport)
Pierre Ntonga, So., Nazareth (New York, NY/Democracy Prep Charter)
Will Chubb, So., St. John Fisher (Akron, NY/Akron)
Zach DeCaro, Sr., St. John Fisher (Union Springs, NY/Union Springs)
Empire 8 Second Team – Doubles
Tobias Webb, Sr. (Houghton, NY/Fillmore)/Jason Murphy, Fr., Houghton (Burdett, NY/Watkins Glen)
Dominic Vito, Gr. (Gansevoort, NY/Schuylerville)/Max Funicello, So., Nazareth (Baldwinsville, NY/Baldwinsville)
Griffin Bond, Jr./Pierre Ntonga, So., Nazareth
Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year
Nick Flemmer, Jr., Alfred (Corning, NY/Corning-Painted Post)
Graham Cook, Jr., Houghton (Painted Post, NY/Home School)
Noah Britton, Jr., Nazareth (Schenectady, NY/Schalmont)
Zach DeCaro, Sr., St. John Fisher (Union Springs, NY/Union Springs)
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.
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