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SOMERSET, N.J. -- It has been both a prolific and historic two-year stretch for men's tennis sophomore
Arvis Berzins (Adazi, Latvia/Riga Language School), who repeated as Northeast Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Year for the conference champion Knights in a vote of league head coaches, the league announced Wednesday.
After becoming just the second player in conference history to earn dual honors as NEC Player and Rookie of the Year in his freshman season, Berzins earned another spot in the record book as the fourth player in league annals to post back-to-back NEC Player of the Year campaigns. Ironically, two of the other three players to accomplish the feat were also FDU student-athletes: Daniel Wynne (2005, 2006) and Philip Stevens (2007, 2008).
Likewise, FDU now sports seven of the 10 NEC Player of the Year winners since the award was instituted back in the 2004 season. Berzins has been razor sharp as of late for the Knights, who head into NCAA Tournament play later this month against Virginia. The Adazi, Latvia product has won nine of his last 11 matches, including a pair of victories in the NEC Tournament last month. His three-set win over Bryant's Zach Morris kept FDU alive in the NEC final against the Bulldogs, a match the Knights would go on to win, 4-3, and repeat as league champion.
For the second straight year, Berzins ended his season a perfect 7-0 versus NEC competition. His record stands at 11-4 in No. 1 singles and 14-6 overall. The March NEC Player of the Month has upped his career mark to 32-18 in two years in an FDU uniform.
The Knights are represented on the All-NEC singles first team by Berzins, senior
Ibrahim Shams (Cairo, Egypt/Manor House) (No. 2) and freshman Markis Sjoberg (No. 6).
Shams, along with Berzins, is a back-to-back First Team All-NEC award winner. The senior won seven of his eight NEC matches, and posted a 12-8 overall record and 10-6 mark at No. 2 singles. He won three NEC Tournament matches, highlighted by a 6-1, 6-1 win against Bryant in the championship final. Shams ended his career with a combined 15-3 record in league matches and enters the NCAA Tournament having won five of his last six contests.
Sjoberg clinched his spot on the All-NEC first team with an NEC Tournament to remember. In the championship final against Bryant, all eyes were on his No. 6 flight match against Joshua Rubenstein with the team score tied at three apiece. Sjoberg dropped the first set, 6-2, but came back with decisive 6-3 and 6-2 wins in the second and third sets to send the Knights to their second straight conference crown. He enters the postseason with an 8-8 record and went 5-2 over the course of FDU's league slate.
Bryant earned two of the three spots on the All-NEC doubles first team, but it was the FDU combination of Berzins and Shams who were recognized at the No. 1 spot. The duo was second team all-stars in 2011-12 but moved up following a stellar season at the No. 1 flight. The pair produced three wins at the NEC Tournament to lift their conference record to 7-1 and finished a league-best 12-3 in No. 1 doubles play. In two years, Berzins and Shams have produced a 28-13 doubles mark.
Three of the All-NEC second team singles spots went to FDU players, all seniors who have previously earned All-Conference recognition in some form.
Yuri Gricheno (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Amorim) was chosen at the No. 3 flight,
Mark Hemy (Suffolk, England/Ipswich School) at the No. 4 position and
Peter Skvarka (Banska Bystrica, Slovakia/Gymnazium J.G. Tajovskeho) at the No. 5 spot.
A two-time First Team All-NEC performer, Gricheno collected his third all-star honor for the Knights. The senior won four of his seven league matches and picked up eight overall victories on the year competing at the No. 3 flight. In four years, Gricheno has accumulated 42 singles victories.
Hemy dropped just one NEC match this past season, and that was to Bryant's Ernesto Arguello, a first team selection. He finished 4-1 in the conference and won eight matches in total for FDU manning the No. 4 spot. His career totals include 41 singles wins and a 10-3 record against NEC foes.
Skvarka, an All-NEC first teamer in 2012, posted his fourth straight winning NEC campaign this past season for FDU. Competing at the No. 5 position, he went 6-1 against conference brethren with the most notable victory coming in straight sets (6-2, 6-1) in the NEC final against Bryant. With an overall mark of 10-6, he lifted his career victory total to 49 heading into FDU's NCAA match with Virginia. Over his four years, he posted a 16-5 record in NEC play.
First team All-NEC award recipients a year ago at No. 3 doubles, Hemy and Skvarka this time claimed all-star recognition at the No. 2 flight. The experienced pairing finished an impressive 6-1 in league bouts and has posted a 13-1 NEC record in two years as a team after going 9-5 overall this past season. Skvarka was also a Second Team All-NEC doubles selection in 2010 when he teamed with
Andrew Denny (Bingley, England/Bradford Grammar).
2013 NEC Men's Tennis Award Winners
NEC Player of the Year
Arvis Berzins (Adazi, Latvia/Riga Language School) FDU So Adazi, Latvia/Riga Centre Language School
NEC Rookie of the Year
Max Vogt BRY Fr Fair Oaks, CA/Granite Bay
NEC Coach of the Year
Ron Gendron BRY
2013 NEC Men's Tennis First Team All-Conference
Singles
Flt Name School Yr Hometown/High School
#1 Arvis Berzins (Adazi, Latvia/Riga Language School) FDU So Adazi, Latvia/Riga Centre Language School
#2 Ibrahim Shams (Cairo, Egypt/Manor House) FDU Sr Cairo, Egypt/Manor House
#3 Dana Parziale BRY Jr Pinehurst, NC/Pinecrest
#4 Ernesto Arguello BRY So Managua, Nicaragua/American Nicaraguan School
#5 Garrett Lane QU Sr Reading, MA/Pingree School
#6 Markus Sjoberg (Tyreso, Sweden/Varmdo Gymnasium) FDU Fr Tyreso, Sweden/Varmdo Gymnasium
Doubles
#1 Arvis Berzins (Adazi, Latvia/Riga Language School) FDU So Adazi, Latvia/Riga Centre Language School
Ibrahim Shams (Cairo, Egypt/Manor House) FDU Sr Cairo, Egypt/Manor House
#2 Ernesto Arguello BRY So Managua, Nicaragua/American Nicaraguan School
Vidith Huot BRY Jr Providence, RI/Classical
#3 Munir Serin BRY Fr Mersin, Turkey
Max Vogt BRY Fr Fair Oaks, CA/Granite Bay
2013 NEC Men's Tennis Second Team All-Conference
Singles
Flt Name School Yr Hometown/High School
#1 Zachary Morris BRY So Garden City, NY/Garden City
#2 Max Vogt BRY Fr Fair Oaks, CA/Granite Bay
#3 Yuri Gricheno (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Amorim) FDU Sr Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Amorim
#4 Mark Hemy (Suffolk, England/Ipswich School) FDU Sr Suffolk, England/Ipswich School
#5 Peter Skvarka (Banska Bystrica, Slovakia/Gymnazium J.G. Tajovskeho) FDU Sr Banska Bystrica, Slovakia/Gymnazium J.G. Tajovskeho
#6 Taylor Place MSM Sr Snellville, GA/St. Pius X
Doubles
#1 Zach Morris BRY So Garden City, NY/Garden City
Dana Parziale BRY Jr Pinehurst, NC/Pinecrest
#2 Mark Hemy (Suffolk, England/Ipswich School) FDU Sr Suffolk, England/Ipswich School
Peter Skvarka (Banska Bystrica, Slovakia/Gymnazium J.G. Tajovskeho) FDU Sr Banska Bystrica, Slovakia/Gymnazium J.G. Tajovskeho
#3 Eric Ambrosio QU So Lloyd Harbor, NY/Cold Spring Harbor
Chris Nelson QU Sr Scituate, MA/Scituate
