Atlantic Sun Conference

2023 #ASUNMTEN Season In Review

5/31/2023 12:00:00 AM

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Record Book

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ATLANTA – With the 45th season of ASUN Conference Men's Tennis in the books we take a look back at the highlights and successes of the 12 league squads following the 2022-23 season. FGCU bested North Florida in a 4-0 sweep to capture their fourth league title in the ASUN Championship Final.

For the third season in a row, FGCU's Magnus Johnson claimed the ASUN Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Year highlighting the postseason awards and superlatives. Johnson was the first Men's Tennis player to win three-straight ASUN Player of the Year awards since Samford's Donovan September from 1991-1993. He was also the first Eagle in program history to claim three Player of the Year accolades and the third overall in ASUN history. The Naples, Fla., native scored a flawless 7-0 regular-season record at No. 1 Singles in ASUN play.

The North Alabama duo of Nazar Fedoryshyn and Carlose Matarredona and the North Florida tandem of Jonas Hartenstein and Rodrigo Crespo both garnered the league's Doubles Pair of the Year. Additionally, UNA's Lachlan Brain was named Freshman of the Year while FGCU's CJ Weber was voted Coach of the Year after helping the Eagles earn the ASUN Regular-Season Championship along with Liberty and UNF at 7-1.

FGCU improved to 15-8 on the year after the Championship Final and added to the trophy case for the first time since 2019, joining the previous titles back in 2015 and 2017. The win also lifted the burden of the Eagles' loss in the 2022 Championship Final a year ago as they punched their ticket to the NCAA Championship.

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TEAM NOTES


Austin Peay (4-15, 1-7 ASUN)
Twitter: GovsMTN
- Four Govs earned five or more Singles wins this season with Tom Bolton leading the charge with nine wins primarily in the No. 3 position, followed by Giovanni Becchis (7), Sota Minami (6), Javier Tortajada (5)
- Sota Minami went on a five-game match win streak defeating Cumberland twice, Brescia, Northern Kentucky and Doane with a majority of the wins coming from the top position
- Austin Peay entered the ASUN Championship as the No. 12 seed in its first year in the league, APSU faced Kennesaw State in the First Round where they dropped the match to the Owls to end their season

Bellarmine (14-10, 6-2 ASUN)
Twitter: BUKnightsMTenn
- The Knights were led by Vineet Ramesh who raked in 14 Singles wins and was followed by Jack Batchelor (13), Paul Reynolds (13) and Mathew Nice (12)
- Matthew Nice (All-Freshman, Second Team), Vineet Ramesh (All-Freshman) and Paul Reynolds (All-Academic) were honored with ASUN postseason awards; Bellarmine's highest number of postseason honorees since joining Division I and the ASUN
- Bellarmine hosted ASUN Championship matches for the first time since joining the league and Division I; the Knights received a first-round bye after earning a top-four seed as a result of their 6-2 conference mark


EKU (4-19, 1-7 ASUN)
Twitter: EKUTennis
- The Colonels completed their first season since 2018 under Head Coach Adam Cohen; EKU earned their first win of the season by a score of 6-1 against Campbellsville on Jan. 18 and finished their season with a 4-19 record and a 1-7 record in Conference play
- EKU won their first ASUN Conference match in program history on March 26 with a 6-1 win against Austin Peay as Courts 1, 4,5, and 6 all earned sweeps over the Hatters
- Sophomore Moritz Mayer led the Colonels, as he was selected ASUN Third Team All-Conference while Sophomore Kristoffer Stahlbrand had a team-high nine wins in doubles play; Stahlbrand was part of the leading pair for the Colonels with Arthur Bugeaud, who posted a 6-4 record from the top two spots

FGCU (15-9, 7-1 ASUN)
Twitter: FGCU_MTEN
- The Eagles captured the 2023 ASUN Men's Tennis Championship by defeating North Florida 4-0; the victory marks the fourth ASUN crown (2015, 2017, 2019) for FGCU
- Three-time ASUN Player of the Year, Magnus Johnson led the conference in Singles wins with an 18-3 record (.857) and each win coming from the No. 1 position; Johnson is the first player in program history to win the award three-straight times
- Four more Eagles earned postseason accolades, as Randy Wilson and Marcelo Sepulveda were named to the ASUN All-Conference Second Team while Guglielmo Stefanacci  earned a spot on the Third Team
 

Jax State (13-11, 4-4 ASUN)
Twitter: JSUGamecocksTN
- The Gamecocks finished the season at 13-11 overall and 4-4 in the ASUN en route to the seven seed in the league's postseason; they would make it to the quarterfinals after taking out #10 EKU, 4-0, in the first round
- Against the Colonels, Vanja Dobrnjac and Lucius Soller won the Doubles point at the top spot, 6-1, while Logan Haga and Xavier Sarda Marti earned the 6-0 victory at No. 3; the team advanced in the championship for the first time since 2003
- Haga finished the 2023 campaign at 4-1 in Singles competition while Vanja Dobrnjac compiled an overall individual total of 15-6 (.714); Matei Palcau finished the year at a perfect 4-0 in Singles action on the second line

Kennesaw State (14-8, 5-3 ASUN)
Twitter: KSUMensTennis
- The Owls made a run to the ASUN Championship Semifinals after putting together a regular-season record of 14-8 before taking out Austin Peay and Bellarmine in the postseason; both respective matchups were 4-0 sweeps
- Raul Garcia led the Kennesaw State charge on the courts as he earned ASUN All-Conference First Team following his 11-8 record on the No. 1 Singles board; it was the third time in Garcia's career he made the all-conference list 
- Not to be outdone, Harvey Conway also heard his name called by the ASUN for postseason honors as a Second Team selection; he was able to flex his muscles on line two to the tune of an 11-7 overall record (.611)

                    
Liberty (17-10, 7-1 ASUN)
Twitter: LibertyMTennis
- The Flames scorched their way to a 17-win campaign and the second seed in the ASUN Championship after earning a share of the regular-season title at 7-1 in the league; they would make a run to the semifinals against North Florida
- Liberty accepted a bid to the NIT Championship where it rolled to an event victory thanks to wins over UC-San Diego, No. 60 Denver and No. 69 Vanderbilt; the Flames made history by claiming the Inaugural NIT Championship
- Deji Thomas-Smith and Luis Felipe Miguel took Court 2 doubles with a 6-3 triumph, helping set the stage for the Flames to take the 4-1 positive outcome against the Commodores; Beau Pelletier clinched the title with a 6-0, 6-1 score

Lipscomb (6-15, 2-6 ASUN)
Twitter: LipscombMTennis
- The Bisons secured just a half-dozen victories on the season with two of them coming against ASUN foes on the courts; they were able to take out EKU on the road, 4-3, before beating Austin Peay at home (4-3)
- Lipscomb headed into the ASUN Championship as the nine seed looking to make noise in the event; the team went toe-to-toe with the eighth-seeded Hatters of Stetson down in Fort Myers, Fla., before coming up short
- A bright spot for the team came in the form of Maksim Bogdanovich, who was able to play his way to an ASUN All-Conference Second Team selection; Bogdanovich was able to notch a 5-2 individual record in No. 1 Singles
 

North Alabama (10-10, 4-4 ASUN)
Twitter: UNATennis
- The Lions were able to hit the 10-plus win mark on the season after finishing .500 on the year in both the regular season and ASUN play (10-10, 4-4 ASUN); that effort in the league got them the sixth seed in the postseason
- North Alabama got itself to double digits in victories after taking down Queens, 4-1, in the ASUN Championship First Round in Jacksonville, Fla.; Lachlan Brain was the star of the show in 2023 after notching Freshman of the Year
- Brain, who was also chosen for the ASUN All-Freshman Team, put together a brilliant opening season for UNA after posting a 7-4 (.636) record on the top line for the squad; he was also strong at No. 2 Singles at 4-overall

North Florida (16-7, 7-1 ASUN)
Twitter: OspreyMTEN
- The Ospreys (16-7) notched a share of the regular-season crown with FGCU and Liberty at 7-1 overall against league foes; they made a run all the way to the ASUN Championship Final before finishing as runner-up
- North Florida was the three seed in the league's postseason and accomplished that thanks to a large representation within postseason honors; Jonas Hartenstein and Rodrigo Crespo were voted as the Doubles Pair of the Year
- The aforementioned duo also found spots on the ASUN All-Conference First Team, while teammate Andreas Scott played his way to an ASUN All-Freshman Team mention; Hartenstein/Crespo were 11-6 overall at No. 1 Doubles



Queens (5-17, 1-7 ASUN)
Twitter: tennis_queens
- The Royals built a foundation on the courts in 2023 and look to take the momentum from their five wins on the season and take another step forward next year; they just completed their initial campaign in both the ASUN and Division I
- Queens got off to a rocky start on its schedule but then was able to grab back-to-back triumphs over North Carolina Central and Johnson C. Smith, both on the road; the club posted 6-1 and 7-0 finals, respectively, in the matchups
- The lone victim in league action for the Royals was Austin Peay after the home squad took a bite out of the Governors, 6-1; off the court, Edoardo Bottino was placed on the ASUN All-Academic Team after earning a 3.98 GPA in Finance

Stetson (14-10, 3-5 ASUN)
Twitter: StetsonTennis
- The Hatters reeled in three victories during league action but capped their season with a 14-10 record and an eight seed in the ASUN Championship; they etched a postseason positive outcome against No. 9 Lipscomb, 4-1
- Stetson was too tough for the Bisons in the first-round matchup of the league's postseason and then carried that performance into a near upset of eventual champion FGCU; the squad fell just short of the Eagles in a 4-3 decision 
- Ervin Haris Eminefendic and Lucas Oliver highlighted the Hatters on the postseason awards, as the duo was placed on the ASUN All-Conference Third Team list; additionally, Marc Saura heard his name called by the ASUN All-Freshman Team

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