EDISON, NJ – The 2022 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion Monmouth University men's tennis program was honored with a number of All-MAAC recognitions on the eve of the postseason tournament, the league office announced Friday.
The selections were highlighted by
Chris Leicht's MAAC Coach of the Year Award, marking the third time in as many seasons that Leicht has been recognized. Under his guidance, Monmouth posted an 18-3 overall record, equaling the school record for victories in a season, and finished with a perfect MAAC ledger at 6-0. Leicht is now 17-0 in MAAC play during his time in West Long Branch and has helped Monmouth win three straight league titles to extend the program's dominant run of seven consecutive MAAC Regular Season crowns.
Monmouth had seven student-athletes earn all-conference recognition, with four Hawks earning multiple honors in singles and doubles play. Five different Hawks collected first team awards, led by
Niels Van Noord and
Charlie Penman at No. 1 Doubles.
Victor Castro and
Trent Massam were named First Team at No. 3 doubles and also secured First Team honors in singles at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively.
Lucca Silva rounded out the First Team awards with his nod at No. 4 singles. Van Noord added Second Team honors to his name at No. 1 singles along with
Dmitry Bezborodov at No. 2 singles. Bezborodov and
Gabriel Busato combined to earn Second Team All-MAAC honors at No. 2 doubles.
Van Noord went 4-1 in MAAC play at No. 1 singles and 5-1 in MAAC play at No. 1 doubles with Penman. The senior finished the year with a 20-10 record in singles and went 21-7 in doubles. His Second Team All-MAAC honor at No. 1 singles and First Team All-MAAC honor at No. 1 doubles are the first of his career.
Bezborodov earned a pair of Second Team All-MAAC honors at No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles following a strong year at both positions. He was 5-1 in MAAC singles play, including 4-1 at No. 2 and 1-0 at No. 1 and posted overall records of 21-9 in singles and 17-10 in doubles. The awards are the first of Bezborodov's career.
Castro claimed two First Team All-MAAC nods at No. 3 singles and No. 3 doubles. He was 5-0 in singles play in MAAC competition, including 3-0 at No. 3, 1-0 at No. 2 and 1-0 at No. 4. In doubles, Castro was 5-1 in conference play, including 3-1 at No. 3 position and 2-0 at No. 2 with Massam. Overall, he ended the regular season 19-7 in singles and 19-7 in doubles. Castro has now been named First Team All-MAAC four times in his career.
Silva was unbeaten in MAAC singles competition with a 6-0 mark, including 3-0 at No. 4, 1-0 at No. 3 and 2-0 at No. 5. Overall, he led the Hawks with a 22-6 record in singles play. Silva is a three-time First Team All-MAAC selection.
After going 5-0 in MAAC singles play, Massam earned First Team All-MAAC honors, including a 4-0 record at No. 6 and 1-0 at No. 5. He went 5-1 in MAAC doubles play, including 3-1 with
Victor Castro to secure his second First Team recognition. Massam ended his first season with the Blue and White with a 17-7 singles record and a 21-10 doubles mark.
Penman shared First Team All-MAAC honors at No. 1 doubles with Van Noord after posting a 5-1 record in conference play and 21-7 mark overall. It is the first all-league nod of Penman's career.
The all-conference recognition continued with Busato, who partnered with Bezborodov at No. 2 doubles. He earns his second-career All-MAAC trophy following a 3-1 conference mark and an overall record of 13-9 in doubles play this season.
In addition to the on-court accolades, Monmouth led the conference with nine student-athletes on the MAAC All-Academic Team. To be eligible for the MAAC All-Academic Team, a student-athlete must complete two semesters at their institution and hold a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a 4.0 scale. The complete list of honorees is below.
Monmouth enters the MAAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed and will look to win its sixth straight MAAC Championship and also make its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance this weekend at Mercer County Park. The Hawks will face No. 1 Niagara in the semifinal round on Saturday at 2 p.m.
MAAC All-Academic Team
Victor Castro, Jr., International Business
Lucca Silva, Jr., Business Economics
Gabriel Busato, Jr., Business Leadership and Organizational Development
Arthur Dussaubat, Jr., Business Operations Supply Chain and Data Management
Austin Klapman, Sr., Business Finance
Diego Laporta, So., Business Finance
Sasha Pachnev, Sr., Business Economics and Finance
Charlie Penman, So., Health Studies
Christof Zeiler, Jr., International Business
