ST. LOUIS – Lewis University junior Armand Levandi has been named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Men’s Tennis Player of the Year, it was announced by the conference office at the 2014 GLVC Tennis Championship banquet Thursday evening in St. Louis, Mo. Levandi joined 15 other standouts on the 2014 All-Conference team, while University of Indianapolis’ Nico Kastunowicz and Malik Tabet were named GLVC Freshman and Coach of the Year, respectively.
A native of Tallinn, Estonia, Levandi concluded the regular season with a 26-2 singles record, with 14 of those wins coming at the No. 1 slot. He also boasted a 16-6 doubles mark, and was 8-3 at No. 1 and 2-1 at No. 2 doubles with teammates Erik Aunapuu (12) Mate Srdanovic (2) and Philip Kuenzi (2). Levandi, who went 6-0 against conference opponents, is the first Flyer to win the award since Uno Lapimaa won back-to-back honors in 2010 and 2011. The lone unanimous All-Conference selection, Levandi claimed the Midwest Regional singles champion crown and placed fourth in singles action at the ITA/USTA Small College National Tournament to go along with his conference dominance. In singles play, Levandi is ranked first in the Midwest and fourth nationally. Levandi and the Flyers enter the GLVC Tennis Championship as the East's No. 4 seed and will face top-seeded Drury on Friday, April 18 at 9 a.m. CT at Dwight Davis Tennis Center.
Kastunowicz becomes the third Greyhound newcomer to earn Freshman of the Year honors, following Marco Saulovic (2000) and Curt Baumgartner (1997). The Horb, Germany, native compiled an 11-4 record in singles play at the No. 1 hole. He also posted a combined 8-7 result at No. 1 with two different partners, including an 8-6 record with All-GLVC member Ryan Frankel. The duo has garnered wins over three tandems from teams ranked in the nation’s top 50 this year. In league play, Kastunowicz recorded a 5-1 mark in singles play to go along with a 4-3 doubles record while in the top spot for the Greyhounds.
Tabet not only mentored Kastunowicz and Frankel, but also guided Indianapolis to a perfect 6-0 mark for the outright East Division crown, while winning the final seven matches to conclude the regular season 13-2 overall. During the season, the Greyhounds were ranked No. 2 in the region, while freshman Nico Kastunowicz and sophomore Ryan Frankel were ranked regionally in singles (7th and 16th, respectively).
This is the second time a Greyhound head coach has earned the conference’s top mentor award as Joe Gentry was tabbed Coach of the Year four straight years (1991-94). UIndy’s Chris Mowry was also named GLVC Coach of the Year in 1989. Currently, Indianapolis ranks No. 2 in the Midwest and No. 31 in the nation. The Greyhounds will battle Truman State (2-3), the No. 4 seed in the West, at 9 a.m. on Friday.
Drury and Lewis paced the conference with three All-Conference selections apiece, combining for six of the 16 honorees on a team equally divided between eight East and eight West Division standouts. Joining Kastunowicz and Levandi from the East Division are Lewis junior Erik Aunapuu and freshman Mate Srdanovic, McKendree senior Luciano Misitrano, and Southern Indiana senior Santiago Lopez and sophomore Jack Joyce. Meanwhile the West Division is represented by Drury senior Andy Blair and freshmen Maximilian Hepp and Jakub Sipos, Missouri-St. Louis juniors Tim McLarty and Nils Mueggenburg, Quincy junior Ian Hinkamper, Rockhurst senior Pawal Grzegrzolka, and Truman State Jake Ohlhausen.
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2014 GLVC MEN’S TENNIS POSTSEASON AWARDS
ALL-CONFERENCE
Andy Blair, Sr., Drury
Maximilian Hepp, Fr., Drury
Jakub Sipos, Fr., Drury
Nico Kastunowicz, Fr., Indianapolis
Ryan Frankel, So., Indianapolis
ARMAND LEVANDI, Jr., Lewis
Erik Aunapuu, Jr., Lewis
Mate Srdanovic, Fr., Lewis
Luciano Misitrano, Sr., McKendree
Tim McLarty, Jr., Missouri-St. Louis
Nils Mueggenburg, Jr., Missouri-St. Louis
Pawal Grzegrzolka, Sr., Rockhurst
Ian Hinkamper, Jr., Quincy
Santiago Lopez, Sr., Southern Indiana
Jack Joyce, So., Southern Indiana
Jake Ohlhausen, Jr., Truman State
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Armand Levandi, Jr., Lewis
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Nico Kastunowicz, Indianapolis
COACH OF THE YEAR
Malik Tabet, Indianapolis
UNANIMOUS selection |