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Somerset, NJ -- Set to cap off one of the most prolific careers in league history, Bryant redshirt senior Matt Kuhar (Smithfield, RI/Smithfield) was unanimously selected as the Northeast Conference (NEC) Men’s Tennis Player of the Year for the third consecutive season. Fairleigh Dickinson freshman Mehdi Dhouib (Larchmont, NY/Iona Preparatory School) was tabbed the NEC Rookie of the Year. Bryant’s Ron Gendron won an unprecedented seventh straight NEC Coach of the Year honor after guiding the Bulldogs to a sixth straight conference crown.

A fifth-year student-athlete who is set to earn his MBA this summer and is the reigning NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in his sport, Kuhar was once again a dominant force on the courts in his final season in the black and gold. In becoming just the second player in conference history to win three NEC Player of the Year honors - FDU’s Arvis Berzins won four straight from 2012-15 - Kuhar has posted a 24-7 singles record heading into the NCAA Tournament later this week. He’s compiled a 17-3 record in #1 flight play and was a perfect 4-0 against NEC competitors. Kuhar leads the NEC in total victories and ranks third in win percentage (.774). After earning his first national ITA ranking a year ago, he reached as high as #77 this season with wins over a host of ranked opponents, including Zeke Clark (Illinois) and August Holmgren (San Diego) at the invitation only Oracle ITA Masters event last fall, and Tommy Mylnikov (Texas Tech) in January. He also ascended to #38 in the ITA doubles rankings as part of his pairing with Wilson Dong. The duo has earned a spot in the NEC doubles championship later this month, the first team in league history to do so. The homegrown product from Smithfield was a two-time NEC Player of the Month and two-time NEC Player of the Week, raising his career total to 13 weekly/monthly honors. Kuhar enters the postseason riding a five-match win streak and has won 17 of his 20 matches this spring. His career singles record stands at 87-30, and he is 58-16 lifetime at the #1 spot and 18-1 versus league rivals. Kuhar was also named to the NEC All-Tournament team for the second year in a row and All-NEC first team at #1 doubles for the second straight year with teammate Artur Jakubowski. He is a four-time All-NEC singles and three-time All-NEC doubles honoree, a former NEC Rookie of the Year and the lone NEC Player of the Year in Bryant’s short history in the NEC.

Fairleigh Dickinson has produced six NEC Rookie of the Year award winners - the most in league history - with Dhouib joining an impressive group that includes NEC Player of the Year honorees Arvis Berzins and Philip Stevens. The Larchmont, NY native immediately took over at the #1 spot where he posted a 9-8 dual meet mark and 4-1 record against NEC rivals. He picked up non-league wins against Fordham, La Salle and Duquesne, and downed 2018 MAAC Rookie of the Year Will Cooke Wharton of Monmouth last fall. Dhouib ranks third on the Knights with 13 wins on the year, including a straight set win against Wagner in the NEC semifinals. He was named NEC Player of the Month last October, was twice named the NEC Rookie of the Month and collected an NEC Rookie of the Week honor this spring. Albert Nersesyan (2006), Stevens (2007), Matt Gordon (2008), Berzins (2012) and Jacob Whalley (2014) were FDU’s previous NEC Rookie of the Year award winners.

Gendron has found the winning formula during his time at Bryant, so much so that he has put a stranglehold on NEC Coach of the Year honors. In winning the award an unprecedented seventh straight time, Gendron is now the most decorated coach in NEC tennis history and extended his conference record for consecutive Coach of the Year honors in any sport. Last month he guided the Bulldogs to a sixth straight NEC championship, tying Monmouth’s league mark for most consecutive titles. Only competing in the NEC since 2013, Bryant has won the most crowns in the team scoring format era that began in 1999. The Bulldogs went unbeaten in league play for a fourth straight year, then posted victories over Mount St. Mary’s and Wagner to earn a sixth ring. In building their 7-0 conference mark, the Bulldogs won 34-of-36 singles matches against NEC rivals. Gendron also assembled a challenging non-league slate that included victories over Xavier, Dayton, George Washington, Navy and Army, among others, en route to a 20-10 dual match record. Under his guidance, Bryant players were honored with five All-NEC accolades and two All-NEC doubles honors. Gendron’s seventh NEC Coach of the Year broke a tie with FDU’s Ira Miller, who won the award six times over a 17-year span from 1996 to 2012.

AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS

This marked the second 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 nine different countries.

Of the six All-NEC first team selections, two are seniors and the remainder are underclassmen. Of the 12 first and second team honorees, only three are seniors.

Bryant seniors Matt Kuhar (Smithfield, RI/Smithfield) and Artur Jakubowski (Dallas, TX/J J Pearce) both earned All-NEC recognition for the fourth time. Kuhar was named to the second team as a freshman and followed with three consecutive first team accolades, while Jakubowski added a second team honor to his three first team selections. The duo has combined for 140 career singles victories. Both Kuhar and Jakubowski have also earned All-NEC doubles honors three times over the course of their career, including the last two years together as a first team all-star tandem. The pairing compiled a 30-12 record the last two seasons, including a 24-8 mark in dual match play.

Bryant sophomore Wilson Dong (Bradenton, FL/IMG Academy) elevated his game this season and was rewarded as such, complementing his 2018 NEC Rookie of the Year award with first team All-NEC plaudits. Dong, who delivered the clinching point in each of the last two conference finals for the Bulldogs, was named NEC Tournament MVP last month.

Along with winning two major awards, Bryant was honored in five singles positions and a pair of doubles flights. The Bulldogs also became the first team with three student-athletes named to the All-Rookie team since Wagner in 2015.

Bryant has had a first team All-NEC selection in each of the last nine years, the longest current streak in the conference.

Fairleigh Dickinson’s Mehdi Dhouib (Larchmont, NY/Iona Preparatory School) and Sacred Heart’s William Wibmer (Maldonado, Uraguay/St. Joseph Mary College) both garnered first team All-NEC recognition as freshman. Dhouib was tabbed the NEC Rookie of the Year while Wibmer earned distinction as the first Pioneer named to the first team since Kirill Kasyanov won back-to-back NEC Player of the Year honors in 2010 and 2011.

Mount St. Mary’s sophomore Jackson Wood (Woodstock, GA/Woodstock) became the first Mount player to be voted first team All-NEC since Mike Salmon in 2012. Wood ended his year with a 12-5 singles mark competing at the #1 flight.

Wagner senior Anatoliy Lashkul (Kiev, Ukraine/High School #78) and junior Dylan Walters (Johannesburg, South Africa/St. Stithians Boys’ College) both repeated as All-NEC award winners. Lashkul was named to the first team followng second team all-star status last season, while Walters collected second team honors to go along with his first team showing in 2018.

Sacred Heart junior Seiji Hosokawa (Norwalk, CT/Aite) is now a back-to-back second team selection while Bryant junior Guido Argentini (Boca Raton, FL/Magallan Tennis Academy (Spanish River)) added a second team award to his first team plaque back in 2017.

About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 38th 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. Merrimack will join the NEC as a full-time member in July, 2019. 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.

2019 NEC Men’s Tennis Award Winners                  
                            
NEC Player of the Year
Matt Kuhar                Bryant                R-Sr    Smithfield, RI/Smithfield
 
NEC Rookie of the Year
Mehdi Dhouib              Fairleigh Dickinson   Fr      Larchmont, NY/Iona Preparatory School
      
NEC Coach of the Year
Ron Gendron               Bryant
 
2019 NEC Men’s Tennis First Team All-Conference                       
 
Singles
 
Name                      School                 Yr     Hometown/High School 
Mehdi Dhouib              Fairleigh Dickinson    Fr     Larchmont, NY/Iona Preparatory School
Wilson Dong               Bryant                 So     Bradenton, FL/IMG Academy
Matt Kuhar                Bryant                 R-Sr   Smithfield, RI/Smithfield
Anatoliy Lashkul          Wagner                 Sr     Kiev, Ukraine/High School #78
William Wibmer            Sacred Heart           Fr     Maldonado, Uraguay/St. Joseph Mary College
Jackson Wood              Mount St. Mary’s       So     Woodstock, GA/Woodstock
 
Doubles
Artur Jakubowski          Bryant                 Sr     Dallas, TX/J J Pearce
Matt Kuhar                Bryant                 R-Sr   Smithfield, RI/Smithfield
 
Guido Argentini           Bryant                 Jr     Boca Raton, FL/Magallan Tennis Academy (Spanish River)
Trent Massam              Bryant                 Sr     Wellington, New Zealand/Hutt International Boys School
 
Parth Sharma              Mount St. Mary’s       So     Torrance, CA/West High School
Jackson Wood              Mount St. Mary’s       So     Woodstock, GA/Woodstoc
 
2019 NEC Men’s Tennis Second Team All-Conference           
 
Singles
 
Name                      School                 Yr     Hometown/High School 
Guido Argentini           Bryant                 Jr     Boca Raton, FL/Magallan Tennis Academy (Spanish River)
Andris Gudins             Fairleigh Dickinson    So     Riga, Latvia/Riga French Lycee
Seiji Hosokawa            Sacred Heart           Jr     Norwalk, CT/Aite
Artur Jakubowski          Bryant                 Sr     Dallas, TX/J J Pearce
Jorge Isaias Ortiz-Garcia Bryant                 Jr     Trujillo, Puerto Rico/Cupeyville School
Dylan Walters             Wagner                 Jr     Johannesburg, South Africa/St. Stithians Boys’ College
 
Doubles
Maciej Autuch             Fairleigh Dickinson    So     Gdynia, Poland/Sopocka Pomorskie Tenisowa
Andris Gudins             Fairleigh Dickinson    So     Riga, Latvia/Riga French Lycee
 
Seiji Hosokowa            Sacred Heart           Jr     Norwalk, CT/Aite
William Wibmer            Sacred Heart           Fr     Maldonado, Uraguay/St. Joseph Mary College
 
Anatoliy Lashkul          Wagner                 Sr     Kiev, Ukraine/High School #78
Dale Sandy                Wagner                 Sr     Durban, South Africa/Kersney College Secondary School
 
2019 NEC Men’s Tennis All-Rookie Team              
 
Name                      School                 Yr     Hometown/High School
Mehdi Dhouib              Fairleigh Dickinson    Fr     Larchmont, NY/Iona Preparatory School
Andrew Forchetti          Bryant                 Fr     Orange, CT/Notre Dame West Haven
Alonso Garcia             Mount St. Mary’s       Fr     Lima, Peru/Carmelitas
Andrew Pregel             Bryant                 Fr     Cincinnati, OH/Indian Hill
Alex Schou                Bryant                 Fr     Holte, Denmark/Naerum Gymnasium
William Wibmer            Sacred Heart           Fr     Maldonado, Uraguay/St. Joseph Mary College