KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The MIAA announced MIAA/GAC Men’s Tennis Postseason Awards and All-MIAA/GAC Teams for the 2021-22 season.
Northwest Missouri’s Andrea Zamurri was named the MIAA/GAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Washburn’s Tim Hammes was named the Freshman of the Year. Ouachita Baptist’s Head Coach Craig Ward was voted the Coach of the Year by his peers. Ouachita’s Santiago Kearney was honored with the MIAA/GAC Sportsmanship Award.
Andrea Zamurri led Northwest Missouri to a No. 1 seed in the North Division as the Bearcats went 14-4 overall and 4-0 in the division. A sophomore from Rieti, Italy, Zamurri posts a league-best record at No.1 singles this spring of 14-2. In doubles action, Zamurri teamed up with Filliop Piranomonte in the number one position. The duo finished the season 3-4 and earned All-MIAA Honorable Mention honors at No.1 doubles. This is Zamurri’s second straight season earning the league’s highest honor. Zamurri was named the MIAA/GAC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year in the 2020-21 season.
Tim Hammes led the Ichabods in singles wins this season from four different positions. The freshman from Krefeld, Germany finished 1-0 at No.1 singles, 9-2 at No.2, 5-3 at No.3 and 1-0 at No.4 for an overall record of 16-5. Hammes also went undefeated in his three doubles matches this season, winning at positions 1-3 with various teammates.
Ouachita’s Head Coach Craig Ward led the Tigers to a flawless 3-0 finish in the division and 15-3 overall. Ward’s Tigers earned All-MIAA honors in all singles and doubles positions with four First Team selections at No.2 singles, No. 5 singles, No. 6 singles and No. 2 doubles.
Ouachita’s Santiago Kearney received the MIAA/GAC Sportsmanship Award while also earning First Team honors. Kearney finished the season 14-2 playing at No.2 singles. He also teamed up with Francisco Oliveira to post an overall doubles record of 12-6 going 8-6 in the first position and 4-0 in the second.
The MIAA and Great American Conference (GAC) played a north and south divisional schedule. The awards were nominated and voted on by all nine head coaches.
Below is a complete list of the 2021-22 MIAA/GAC Men’s Tennis Postseason Awards and All-MIAA/GAC Teams.
2021-22 MIAA/GAC Men’s Tennis Awards and All-MIAA/GAC Teams
Player of the Year: Andrea Zamurri – Northwest Missouri
Freshman of the Year: Tim Hammes – Washburn
Sportsmanship Award: Santiago Kearney – Ouachita Baptist
Coach of the Year: Craig Ward – Ouachita Baptist
First-Team
No. 1 Singles – Andrea Zamurri – Northwest Missouri
No. 2 Singles – Santiago Kearney – Ouachita Baptist
No. 3 Singles – Marko Nikoliuk – Southern Arkansas
No. 4 Singles – Ole Valkyser – Southern Arkansas
No. 5 Singles – Tobias Fuerschuss – Ouachita Baptist
No. 6 Singles – Phil Exner – Ouachita Baptist
No. 1 Doubles – Sander Jans and Marko Nikoliuk – Southern Arkansas
No. 2 Doubles – Francisco Oliveira and Santiago Kearney – Ouachita Baptist
No. 3 Doubles – Franco Oliva and Fabien Calloud – Northwest Missouri
Second-Team
No. 1 Singles – Francisco Oliveira – Ouachita Baptist
No. 2 Singles – Tim Hammes - Washburn
No. 3 Singles – Fabian Calloud – Northwest Missouri
No. 4 Singles – Mason Meier – Northwest Missouri
No. 5 Singles – Simon Birgerson – Northwest Missouri
No. 6 Singles – Santiago Rendon - Washburn
No. 1 Doubles – Dani Ortiz and Arthur Bellan - Harding
No. 2 Doubles – Morgan Salvan and Alvaro de Lorenzo - Harding
No. 3 Doubles – Tobias Fuerschuss and Fernando Docters – Ouachita Baptist; Matt Tennant and Ole Valkyser – Southern Arkansas*
*Includes Ties In Voting
Honorable Mentions
No. 1 Singles – Dani Ortiz – Harding; Sander Jans – Southern Arkansas; Raul-Alin Dicu - Washburn
No. 2 Singles – Franco Oliva – Northwest Missouri; Stuart Rehfuss – Southern Arkansas
No. 3 Singles – Morgan Salvan – Harding; Fernando Docters – Ouachita Baptist; Miquel Perez - Washburn
No. 4 Singles – Alvaro de Lorenzo – Harding; Gustavo Gil – Newman; Alex Blanchar – Ouachita Baptist; Sebastian Pjontek - Washburn
No. 5 Singles – Milosh Petrovic – Harding; Sofiane Bah – Southern Arkansas; Daniel Bird – Washburn
No. 6 Singles – Martin Sanchez – Northwest Missouri; Yuri Gondouin – Southern Arkansas; Thabo Ncube – Southeastern Oklahoma
No. 1 Doubles – Pedja Kolaric and Ali Mounir – Newman; Fillipo Piranomonte and Andrea Zamurri – Northwest Missouri; Phil Exner and Alex Blanchar – Ouachita Baptist; George Botha and Marin Jurkovic – Southeastern Oklahoma; Matthew Earle and Sebastian Pjontek – Washburn
No. 2 Doubles – Sofiane Bah and Stuart Rehfuss – Southernn Arkansas; Stipan Madzar and Thabo Ncube – Southeastern Oklahoma; Raul-Alin Dicu and Noah Neideck – Washburn
No. 3 Doubles – Diego Pierola and Milosh Petrovic – Harding; Manuel Pilotto and Gen Naraya – Southeastern Oklahoma; Miquel Perez and Santiago Rendon - Washburn