SPRINGEIELD, Mo. – The Great Lakes Valley Conference announced Thursday night that University of Indianapolis senior Nils Hoffacker has been named the 2018 GLVC Player of the Year in the sport of men’s tennis. Teammate Renato Lima was named GLVC Freshman of the Year, and the Coach of the Year will be awarded to the coach of the tournament’s winning team. The pair of Greyhounds was selected by the league coaches and recognized for their efforts at an awards reception on the eve of the 2018 GLVC Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championship Tournament, which begins on Friday in Springfield, Missouri. A total of 16 student-athletes from both the East and West Divisions were recognized as All-Conference honorees. Additionally, 13 student-athletes were named GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award nominees.
Hoffacker finished the regular season with a No. 1 singles dual record of 17-3 and a near-perfect 20-1 mark in doubles, primarily in the No. 3 slot. He played his first 11 doubles matches this spring with Matej Kostadinov and the final 10 with Dario Huber. He and Kostadinov also won twice in the fall, while Hoffacker ended the fall slate with a 10-1 record, the ITA Midwest Region Championship title, and a fifth-place finish at the ITA National Tournament. The senior is ranked 44th in the nation, was named GLVC Player of the Week on March 6, and landed a spot on the All-GLVC team for the second year in a row. Hoffacker is the sixth Greyhound to earn the league’s top honor and the second in a row, as Arklon Huertas del Pino was chosen last season. Paul Buck was the first UIndy player selected in 1990, while R.B. Hervey followed in 2001 and Ross Johnson won back-to-back laurels in 2003 and 2004.
Lima joins Hoffacker on the All-GLVC team and garners UIndy’s fifth freshman postseason distinction, as teammate Christoph Drechsler was the most recent in 2015. Before that, Nico Kastunowicz won in 2014, while Marko Saulovic was the honoree in 2000, and Curt Baumgartner earned the inaugural award in 1997. In dual match singles play, Lima boasted a 16-2 clip with all but one contest played at No. 2. He went 13-6 in No. 1 doubles action with two different partners, including Huber for the first eight matches and Andrea Morlet for the last 11. The native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, is currently ranked 22nd nationally with Morlet in doubles.
UIndy highlights the All-Conference team with a league-best four selections, including Hoffacker, Renato, Drechsler, and Huber. Five other teams followed with two choices apiece, including Drury University, Maryville University, McKendree University, University of Missouri-St. Louis, and Rockhurst University. Senior Sebastien Amato and sophomore Nico Hadeler were the Panthers’ honorees; the Saints received recognition for freshmen Jack Beuttell-Triggs and Juan Segura; seniors Maico Egbers and Ben Muller were the Bearcats’ pick; sophomore Ben-Hur Kasprzak and freshman Vitor Monteiro were selected for the Tritons; and a pair of Hawks’ seniors earned the nod in Nicolas Riveros-Horst and Oskar Unger. University of Illinois Springfield junior Sam Clarke and Lewis University junior Alan Braschinsky round out the 16-member team.
The league also recognized Quincy as its GLVC Men's Tennis James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award team recipient, as well as 13 GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Individual Award nominees. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school’s two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced in May.
A complete list of All-GLVC performers and major postseason award winners can be found below.
2018 GLVC Player of the Year: Nils Hoffacker, Sr., Indianapolis
2018 GLVC Freshman of the Year: Renato Lima, Fr., Indianapolis
2018 GLVC Coach of the Year: Winner of Tournament
2018 ALL-GLVC MEN’S TENNIS POSTSEASON AWARDS
Sebastien Amato, Sr., DU
Nico Hadeler, So., DU
Sam Clarke, Jr., UIS
Christoph Drechsler, Sr., UINDY
Nils Hoffacker, Sr., UINDY
Dario Huber, Fr., UINDY
Renato Lima, Fr., UINDY
Alan Braschinksy, Jr., LEWIS
Jack Beuttell-Triggs, Fr., MU
Juan Segura, Fr., MU
Maico Egbers, Sr., MCK
Ben Muller, Sr., MCK
Ben-Hur Kasprzak, So., UMSL
Vitor Monteiro, Fr., UMSL
Nicolas Riveros-Horst, Sr., RU
Oskar Unger, Sr., RU
2018 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP INDIVIDUAL AWARD NOMINEES
Alex Swords, BU
Sebastien Amato, DU
Tommy Martinez, UIS
Christoph Drechsler, UINDY
Alan Braschinsky, LEWIS
Jack Beuttell-Triggs, MU
Ben Muller, MCK
Karl Heinrichs, UMSL
Collin Adams, QU
Tarass Thevenaz, RU
Alex Lawrenz, USI
Paul Province, TSU
Brian Wohlers, WJC
2018 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM AWARD
Quincy