Fairleigh Dickinson men's tennis player Arvis Berzins (Adazi, Latvia/Riga Language School) was rewarded for his standout freshman season by being named Northeast Conference Player and Rookie of the Year on Wednesday as his coach Ira Miller earned his sixth Coach of the Year award.

Berzins joins former Knight Philip Stephens as the only players in NEC history to sweep Player and Rookie of the Year honors in men's tennis, while Miller earns his accolades after leading FDU to its NEC record 11th men's tennis title during the 2011-12 campaign.

On the First and Second Team All-NEC lists for singles and doubles, seven of FDU's players received recognition. Berzins, who put together a 15-4 record in No. 1 singles action, picked up First Team All-NEC recognition for singles. The five-time NEC Rookie of the Week went 7-0 against NEC opponents on the year. He is FDU's fifth NEC Player of the Year and fourth NEC Rookie of the Year. Berzins and junior Ibrahim Shams (Cairo, Egypt/Manor House) were also recognized as Second Team All-NEC for No. 1 doubles.

Shams, FDU's No. 2 doubles player, also earned NEC honors for his singles play by adding a First Team All-NEC selection to his resume. A winner of seven of his last eight singles matches, Shams put together a 17-12 record with six of those victories coming against NEC competition.

Another of FDU's four first team selections was junior Yuri Gricheno (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Amorim). The Brazilian, who won NEC Player of the Month in September, was FDU's No. 3 singles player this year. Gricheno won 15 matches this season and was winning each of his matches in the NEC Championships when the Knights secured their victories.

Rounding out the All-NEC First Team is FDU's No. 5 singles player, Peter Skvarka (Banska Bystrica, Slovakia/Gymnazium J.G. Tajovskeho). Winning 15 matches, Skvarka went 6-0 during April to finish the regular season and NEC Championships on a high note. Skvarka, as well as his doubles partner junior Mark Hemy (Suffolk, England/Ipswich School) secured First Team All-NEC for No. 3 doubles thanks to their 7-0 record in NEC Play.

Senior Dominic Hemy (Suffolk, England/Ipswich School), a 2012 Second Team All-NEC No. 6 singles performer, turned his season around. Hemy won 10 of his final 11 matches to finish with a 10-18 mark. In doubles, the pairing of Hemy with fellow senior Marco Jemersic (Zagreb, Croatia/X Gimnazija Ivan Supek) won three of four matches in the NEC to pick up First Team All-NEC at No. 2 doubles.

2012 NEC Men's Tennis Award Winners

Player of the Year
Arvis Berzins (Adazi, Latvia/Riga Language School)                   FDU               Fr    Adazi, Latvia/Riga Centre Language School

Rookie of the Year
Arvis Berzins (Adazi, Latvia/Riga Language School)                   FDU               Fr    Adazi, Latvia/Riga Centre Language School

Coach of the Year
Ira Miller                      FDU

2012 NEC Men's Tennis First Team All-Conference

Singles
Flight  Name                    School            Yr    Hometown/High School
#1      Arvis Berzins (Adazi, Latvia/Riga Language School)           FDU               Fr    Adazi, Latvia/Riga Centre Language School
#2      Ibrahim Shams (Cairo, Egypt/Manor House)      FDU               Jr    Cairo, Egypt/Manor House
#3      Yuri Gricheno (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Amorim)          FDU               Jr    Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Amorim
#4      Mike Salomon        The Mount     Jr    Haymarket, VA/Seton School
#5      Peter Skvarka (Banska Bystrica, Slovakia/Gymnazium J.G. Tajovskeho)          FDU               Jr    Banska Bystrica, Slovakia/Gymnazium J.G. Tajovskeho
#6      Richard Sipala        Bryant            Fr    Quogue, NY/The Ross School

Doubles
Flight  Name                            School          Yr      Hometown/High School
#1      Ernesto Arguello            Bryant          Fr      Managua, Nicaragua/American Nicaraguan School
           Juan Gonzalez-Paz0     Bryant          Fr      San Juan, Puerto Rico/Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola
#2      Dominic Hemy (Suffolk, England/Ipswich School)                FDU             Sr      Suffolk, England/Ipswich School
           Marco Jemersic (Zagreb, Croatia/X Gimnazija Ivan Supek)              FDU             Sr      Zagreb, Croatia/X Gimnasija Ivan Supek
#3      Mark Hemy (Suffolk, England/Ipswich School)                       FDU             Jr      Suffolk, England/Ipswich School
           Peter Skvarka (Banska Bystrica, Slovakia/Gymnazium J.G. Tajovskeho)                  FDU             Jr      Banska Bystrica, Slovakia/Gymnazium J.G. Tajovskeho

2012 NEC Men's Tennis Second Team All-Conference

Singles
Flight  Name                                School                  Yr      Hometown/High School
#1      Freddy Marcinkowski       Monmouth           Fr      Sparta, NJ/Sparta
#2      Dana Parziale                   Bryant                   So      Pinehurst, NC/Pinecrest
#3      Andre Coiro                       Robert Morris      Jr      Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
#4      Ernesto Arguello               Bryant                  Fr      Managua, Nicaragua/American Nicaraguan School
#5      Juan Gonzalez-Paz          Bryant                   Fr      San Juan, Puerto Rico/Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola
#6      Dominic Hemy (Suffolk, England/Ipswich School)                 FDU                       Sr      Suffolk, England/Ipswich School

Doubles
Flight  Name                    School          Yr      Hometown/High School
#1      Arvis Berzins (Adazi, Latvia/Riga Language School)           FDU               Fr      Adazi, Latvia/Riga Centre Language School
           Ibrahim Shams (Cairo, Egypt/Manor House)      FDU              Jr      Cairo, Egypt/Manor House
#2      Laurence Hea        Monmouth   Sr      Stockton-on-Tees, England/Repton School
           Francis Jedlinski  Monmouth    Fr      Manalapan, NJ/Freehold Township
#3      Tom Kowalski        Monmouth    Fr      Westfield, NJ/Westfield
           David Sherwood    Monmouth    Sr      Little Egg Harbor, NJ/Pinelands