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Somerset, NJ -- On the heels of a landmark 2017-18 campaign, Bryant redshirt junior
Matt Kuhar (Smithfield, RI/Smithfield) was unanimously selected as the Northeast Conference (NEC) Men’s Tennis Player of the Year for the second straight season. Bryant freshman
Wilson Dong (Bradenton, FL/IMG Academy) was selected the NEC Rookie of the Year. Bryant’s
Ron Gendron made it a clean sweep of the major honors for the Bulldogs, claiming an unprecedented sixth straight NEC Coach of the Year honor after leading the Bulldogs to a fifth consecutive conference title.
It’s been a star-studded year with no shortage of accolades for Kuhar, a hometown hero out of Smithfield, RI. The former NEC Rookie of the Year was the February NEC Player of the Month, a two-time NEC Player of the Week and was named to the NEC All-Tournament team. Kuhar heads into NCAA play with a 26-7 record, including a 20-3 mark in #1 flight play. He ranks second in the conference in singles wins and win percentage (.788), but it’s the quality of his victories - and losses for that matter - that turned heads this season. Kuhar defeated #54-ranked Billy Griffith of California in straight sets (7-5, 6-4), took the lone set (7-6) from #60 Ferran Calvo of Oklahoma before the match was halted and dropped a 6-4, 7-6 decision to #42 Julian Cash of Oklahoma State. He also posted wins over opponents from Lamar, Boston College, Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth, Air Force and UNC Wilmington, among others. Kuhar enters the postseason riding a five-match win streak and has won nine of his last ten. His career singles record stands at 63-22, and he is 41-12 lifetime at the #1 spot and 14-1 versus league rivals. Kuhar was also named to the All-NEC first team at #1 doubles with teammate Artur Jakubowski. He is the lone NEC Player of the Year in Bryant’s short history in the NEC.
Bryant can now boast of producing five of the last eight NEC Rookie of the Year honorees following Dong’s accolade. The Bradenton, FL native broke into the league’s deepest lineup of talent as a freshman, competing in each of the six singles spots throughout the year. Dong picked up non-conference wins against Lamar, Navy, Boston U and Binghamton, and ended the NEC Tournament on a five-match win streak. He ranks fifth on the Bulldogs with 12 wins on the year and posted a 3-1 record against league opponents. Dong also delivered the clincher as Bryant downed Wagner last month for its fifth consecutive NEC crown. Dana Parziale (2010), Max Vogt (2013), Matt Kuhar (2015) and Michael Plutt (2016) were Bryant’s previous NEC Rookie of the Year award winners. All four went on to earn All-NEC honors three times during their respective careers with Kuhar and Plutt still active.
Gendron added to his burgeoning NEC Hall of Fame resume after the Bulldogs joined Fairleigh Dickinson (12) and Monmouth (nine) as the only schools in conference history to win five NEC crowns. Bryant also became the lone institution to win five straight titles in the team scoring format era that began in 1999. The Bulldogs went undefeated in NEC play for a third straight year, then claimed wins over Fairleigh Dickinson and Wagner at the NEC Tournament to make it “one for the thumb.” The 12th-year head coach took his non-conference schedule to the next level this season, taking on teams from 17 different conferences and all three service academies. The Bulldogs picked up wins over Creighton, Lamar, Army, Air Force among others. Under his guidance, Bryant players were honored with five All-NEC accolades and three All-NEC doubles honors. Gendron became the first coach in league annals to be named NEC Coach of the Year six straight times, and is tied with Fairleigh Dickinson’s Ira Miller for the most all-time NEC Coach of the Year honors.
AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS
This marked the first year that All-NEC honors were awarded without flight designations.
The players named to the All-NEC and All-Rookie teams are a diverse group representing 11 different countries.
There are just three are seniors and eight are underclassmen among the 12 student-athletes named to All-NEC teams.
Bryant seniors
Luke Lorenz (Colorado Springs, CO/Discovery Canyon Campus) and
Jorge E. Ortiz-Garcia (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico/Cupeyville School), along with Saint Francis U senior
Alec Dylan Foo-Kune (Phoenix, Mauritius/International Connections Academy), wrapped their careers as four-time All-NEC honorees. Lorenz was tabbed to the first team for the third time, while Foo-Kune is now a two-time first teamer. Ortiz-Garcia was voted to the second team following three first team selections. Lorenz, who was named the NEC Tournament MVP last month, is tied for third in the NEC this season with 19 wins and racked up 65 victories over his four years. He’s also a four-time NEC doubles all-star with three different partners. Ortiz-Garcia was named to the inaugural NEC All-Tournament team and enters NCAA play with 49 career wins. He also teamed up with his brother
Jorge I. Ortiz-Garcia (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico/Cupeyville School) to collect second team All-NEC doubles accolades. Foo-Kune led the Red Flash with 17 victories in 2017-18 and won 52 matches while in Loretto.
Saint Francis U sophomore
Franz Luna (Guatemala City, Guatemala/Laurel Springs) has built quite a resume over his first two years in a Red Flash uniform. The 2016-17 NEC Rookie of the Year and a two-time first team all-star, Luna has compiled a 36-20 singles record heading into his junior year.
Along with winning all three major awards, Bryant was honored in all five singles positions and all three doubles flights. The Bulldogs had three players earn first team All-NEC singles accolades.
Bryant junior
Artur Jakubowski (Dallas, TX) made it three consecutive first team All-NEC singles honors. The Dallas, TX native is 13-0 all-time against NEC competition. Classmate
Michael Plutt (Weston, FL/Cypress Bay) is also a three-time all-star with his selection to the second team.
Wagner senior
Charlton Boyd (Shreveport, LA/Loyola College Prep) comes off one of the great individual years in recent NEC memory. He ended the season with a 27-3 singles record, including a 19-1 mark in dual matches and a perfect 7-0 record in league play. The 27 wins were the most in the NEC and his .900 win percentage also ranked first on the circuit. Boyd established a school record for victories and posted a 75-24 singles record in his four years on Grymes Hill. He was one of three honorees for the NEC runner-up Seahawks, joining sophomore
Dylan Walters (Johannesburg, South Africa/St. Stithians Boys’ College) (fiirst team) and junior
Anatoliy Lashkul (Kiev, Ukraine/High School #78) (second team).
Sacred Heart’s
Seiji Hosokowa (Norwalk, CT/Aite) became the first Pioneer to be bestowed with All-NEC honors in seven years. The sophomore was named to the second team following a 11-7 singles campaign.
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 37th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, all @NECsports.
2018 NEC Men’s Tennis Award Winners
NEC Player of the Year
Matt Kuhar Bryant R-Jr Smithfield, RI/Smithfield
NEC Rookie of the Year
Wilson Dong Bryant Fr Bradenton, FL/IMG Academy
NEC Coach of the Year
Ron Gendron Bryant
2018 NEC Men’s Tennis First Team All-Conference
Singles
Name School Yr Hometown/High School
Alec Dylan Foo-Kune Saint Francis U Sr Phoenix, Mauritius/International Connections Academy
Artur Jakubowski Bryant Jr Dallas, TX
Matt Kuhar Bryant R-Jr Smithfield, RI/Smithfield
Luke Lorenz Bryant Sr Colorado Springs, CO/Discovery Canyon Campus
Franz Luna Saint Francis U So Guatemala City, Guatemala/Laurel Springs
Dylan Walters Wagner So Johannesburg, South Africa/St. Stithians Boys’ College
Doubles
Artur Jakubowski Bryant Jr Dallas, TX
Matt Kuhar Bryant R-Jr Smithfield, RI/Smithfield
Jackson Wood Mount St. Mary’s Fr Woodstock, GA/Woodstoc
Brandon Wortkotter Mount St. Mary’s Sr Fort Myers, FL/Lassiter (GA)
Anatoliy Lashkul Wagner Jr Kiev, Ukraine/High School #78
Dale Sandy Wagner Jr Durban, South Africa/Kersney College Secondary School
2018 NEC Men’s Tennis Second Team All-Conference
Singles
Name School Yr Hometown/High School
Charlton Boyd Wagner Sr Shreveport, LA/Loyola College Prep
Seiji Hosokowa Sacred Heart So Norwalk, CT/Aite
Anatoliy Lashkul Wagner Jr Kiev, Ukraine/High School #78
Jorge E. Ortiz-Garcia Bryant Sr Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico/Cupeyville School
Michael Plutt Bryant Jr Weston, FL/Cypress Bay
Alejandro Ridruejo St. Francis Brooklyn Jr Madrid, Spain/Balder
Doubles
Jorge E. Ortiz-Garcia Bryant Sr Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico/Cupeyville School
Jorge I. Ortiz-Garcia Bryant So Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico/Cupeyville School
Luke Lorenz Bryant Sr Colorado Springs, CO/Discovery Canyon Campus
Grant Pertile Bryant Fr Edgartown, MA/Laurel Springs (CA)
Eric Poland Wagner Jr Fort Myers, FL/Bishop Verot
Dylan Walters Wagner So Johannesburg, South Africa/St. Stithians Boys’ College
2018 NEC Men’s Tennis All-Rookie Team
Name School Yr Hometown/High School
Maciej Autuch Fairleigh Dickinson Fr Gdynia, Poland/Sopocka Pomorskie Tenisowa
Wilson Dong Bryant Fr Bradenton, FL/IMG Academy
Andris Gudins Fairleigh Dickinson Fr Riga, Latvia/Riga French Lycee
Charles Morkel Saint Francis U Fr Cape Town, South Africa/Paul Roos Gymnasium
Sebastian Pinos Saint Francis U Fr Quito, Ecuador/Compuinformatica
Jackson Wood Mount St. Mary’s Fr Woodstock, GA/Woodstock