Horizon League Announces 2023 #HLTennis All-League Awards
INDIANAPOLIS – The Horizon League announced its 2023 men’s and women’s #HLTennis awards on Thursday highlighted by Cleveland State’s Maxime Mareschal-Hay and Oihane Vicario earning Player of the Year honors. In addition, Jonasz Dziopak of Tennessee State was named men’s Freshman of the Year, while Milwaukee’s Nadiia Konieva was named Freshman of the Year on the women’s side, as voted on by the League’s head coaches.
Bethany Yauch of Cleveland State was selected as this year’s women’s recipient of the Herb Foster Sportsmanship Award along with Southern Indiana’s Lucas Sakamaki on the men’s side. The award is given in honor of former Wright State men’s and women’s tennis coach Herb Foster who passed away in 2004. Also, Mauricio Antun of Belmont and Mickael Sopel of Youngstown State claimed the Coach of the Year awards on the men’s and women’s sides, respectively.
In his first season at Cleveland State, Mareschal-Hay made his mark as he was the 2021 Freshman of the Year and Second-Team All-League. Last season, Mareschal-Hay earned First-Team All-League honors, and this season he earns another First-Team All-League honor, and is recognized as the Player of the Year. Mareschal-Hay is the fourth ever Viking to earn the award, and it is the first one since 2021. The Chicoutimi, Quebec native went 17-1 over the spring at No. 1 singles, including going 8-0 during League play for the Vikings to help lead CSU to a 7-1 mark in HL play, securing the Horizon League North Division regular season title.
Oihane Vicario came into the 2023 season as the 2022 Horizon League Co-Freshman of the Year and a member of the 2022 First-Team All-League. This season, Vicario can now add that she is the Horizon League Women’s Player of the Year. She is the fourth Viking to earn the honor, with the last one coming in 2021. The sophomore from Oion/Alava, Spain finished the season with an overall record of 14-7 at No. 1 singles this spring, and she went 6-0 against League opponents. Vicario help leads the Vikings as they come into the Horizon League championship as the two seed.
In their first season as an affiliated member, Tennessee State was led by Freshman of the Year Jonasz Dziopak. The Tigers finish the season at 6-4 in League play, which helped them earn the three seed from the Horizon League South Division. Dziopak finishes the season at 8-3 from the No. 1 singles spot, including going 5-2 in League play.
Odd numbered years appear to bode well for Milwaukee as they have had a Panther earn the women’s Freshman of the Year award in 2019, 2021, and again this 2023 season as Nadiia Konieva earns the honors. Nadiia marks the fifth Panther to earn this award. The Kharkiv, Ukraine native went 13-6 this spring, including going 6-2 from the No. 2 singles spot in Horizon League play.
Sopel claims his first women’s Coach of the Year award since 2015 after leading the Penguins to a perfect Horizon League season at 6-0 to claim the No. 1 seed at this week’s League championship. On the men’s side, Antun takes home his first men’s Coach of the Year honor in Belmont’s first season as an affiliated men’s tennis member. Antun helped lead the Bruins to a 19-5 mark on the season, including going 10-0 in League play to earn the Horizon League South Division regular season title. Antun also helped the Bruins achieve a new first this season as they earned their first-ever national ranking, coming in at No. 74 in ITA Rankings back on February 21.
The Horizon League Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships will take place at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. beginning on Friday, April 28 with quarterfinal matches and will conclude on Sunday, April 30 with the championship matches streamed on ESPN+. Fans can also follow all the action on social media by following @HorizonLeague.
For complete championship information, go to the #HLTennis Championship Central page,
here.
2023 Horizon League Men’s Tennis Award Winners
Player of the Year: Maxime Mareschal-Hay, Cleveland State
Freshman of the Year: Jonasz Dziopak, Tennessee State
Herb Foster Sportsmanship Award: Lucas Sakamaki, Southern Indiana
Coach of the Year: Mauricio Antun, Belmont
All-Horizon League First Team (alphabetical by school)
Marko Ilic, Belmont
Alfred Wallin, Belmont
Pedro Alvarez, Chicago State
Maxime Mareschal-Hay, Cleveland State
Jonasz Dziopak, Tennessee State
Mika Berghaus, Tennessee Tech
All-Horizon League Second Team (alphabetical by school)
Ian Cruz, Belmont
Tomas Luis, Belmont
Mikael Erler, Cleveland State
Raul Teichmann, Cleveland State
Taj Hibbert, Tennessee State
Elias Grubert, Tennessee Tech
2023 Horizon League Women’s Tennis Award Winners
Player of the Year: Oihane Vicario, Cleveland State
Freshman of the Year: Nadiia Konieva, Milwaukee
Herb Foster Sportsmanship Award: Bethany Yauch, Cleveland State
Coach of the Year: Mickael Sopel, Youngstown State
All-Horizon League First Team (alphabetical by school
Katarina Dukic, Chicago State
Cali Fuller, Chicago State
Oihane Vicario, Cleveland State
Nadiia Konieva, Milwaukee
Eliska Masarikova, Youngstown State
Elisa Rigazio, Youngstown State
All-Horizon League Second Team (alphabetical by school)
Sima Heren, Cleveland State
Tereze Vevere, Cleveland State
Bethany Yauch, Cleveland State
Meghan Bernard, IUPUI
Elizabeth Rozin, Northern Kentucky
Lili Minich, Youngstown State
Cecilia Rosas, Youngstown State