Bridgewater, NJ -- History repeating itself seemed to be a common theme on the Northeast Conference (NEC) men’s tennis scene this spring.
In Le Moyne’s second season on the NEC circuit, senior
Peter Hatton (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt (Army West Point)) rose above the rest to take home NEC Player of the Year accolades for the second straight year in a unanimous vote of the league’s head coaches.
After a breakout debut,
Kevin Titus Suresh (Bengaluru, India/Clarence) added a second straight NEC Rookie of the Year award to the Saint Francis U trophy case.
And in only its second season as an NEC associate, Binghamton - led by 11th-year head coach Nick Zieziula - completed a championship repeat, a run that earned Zieziula his NEC Coach of the Year distinction.
Hatton put together an impressive senior season with an 18-4 overall singles mark and a perfect 8-0 record against conference opponents. The five-time NEC Player of the Week earned non-conference triumphs against players from Fairfield, Siena, DePaul, Niagara, Siena, Colgate, Saint Joseph’s, Lafayette and St. Bonaventure, finishing the season on a 15-match winning streak. In his two seasons in the NEC, Hatton compiled a 15-1 mark against league rivals and went 27-6 in #1 flight dual matches.
Additionally, Hatton landed on the All-NEC singles first team for the second straight season and elevated his All-Conference doubles recognition from second team to first team alongside junior
Adrian Daniel (Tel Aviv, Israel/Montana State). The duo teamed up for a near-perfect 13-1 record this season.
Suresh followed in the footsteps of three previous Red Flash freshmen to put together NEC Rookie of the Year campaigns. He joined teammate Tyler Nguyen, who was awarded the honor last season, along with Franz Luna (2017) and Elahn Pouge (2010). The two-time NEC Rookie of the Week posted a 17-8 singles mark and a team-best 5-2 record in conference matches. Suresh also won the “C” flight at the first-ever NEC fall individual tournament.
Arriving to the Parlor City in 2015, Zieziula has established Binghamton’s men’s tennis program as a force in the conference, leading the Bearcats to back-to-back conference titles and NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 2013 and 2014. The Bearcats registered 13 dual match victories on the year, including a 7-3 conference campaign en route to their second title in as many years. Binghamton's memorable run to the NEC title as a No. 4 seed started with a nail-biting win over Saint Francis U in the NEC quarterfinals. The Bearcats ousted top-seeded FDU in the semis and then downed LIU in the championship match at Mercer County Park. Binghamton also picked up non-conference wins over Saint Bonaventure, Colgate, Niagara, Marist and Siena. Zieziula guided three players to first team All-NEC honors, the most of any team in the conference.
AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS
This year’s NEC award winners are a veteran-laden group, with seven of the 12 All-Conference singles selections being upperclassmen.
In addition, this season’s All-NEC and All-Rookie honorees bring an international flair, with players from 14 different nations represented.
Binghamton and Saint Francis U led the way with three All-NEC singles picks. FDU and LIU each earned two spots, while Le Moyne and Mercyhurst sported one apiece.
The Bearcats saw their second straight league championship run rewarded by the league's head coaches. Junior
William Morais Binnie (Porto, Portugal/University of Nebraska Online) was named to the All-NEC singles first team for the second year running. His résumé was highlighted by being named NEC Tournament MVP, thanks to three straight-set victories. Binnie secured the clinching point in the NEC title match with a 6-2, 6-4 win at #1 singles against LIU. He finished the year with 21 victories, tying for the second-most in the conference, and was also named October’s NEC Player of the Month.
Binnie was joined on the singles first team by teammates junior
Ronin Lotlikar (Bengaluru, India/Gear Innovative) and sophomore
Filipe Costa (Goinia, Brazil/Colegio Saber). Lotlikar racked up an NEC-high 22 wins on the season, including a team-best seven against NEC opponents, while Costa won 19 of his own with 12 coming at No. 3 singles. Additionally, Binnie and Lotlikar teamed up in doubles play to land on the All-Conference doubles first team after posting 14 triumphs together. Lotlikar upgraded from a spot on the singles second team a year ago.
The Binghamton tandem of junior
James McPherson (Auckland, New Zealand/Saint Kentigern College) and senior
Kyle Weekes (Lasalle, Quebec, Canada/College de Montreal) paired up for a 14-8 doubles campaign, including a 7-1 league mark, to collect second team accolades. McPherson was named an All-NEC double player for the second straight after earning a spot on the first team a year ago alongside Binnie.
Suresh’s NEC Rookie of the Year season also earned him a spot on the All-NEC singles second team. Sophomore
Alan Gonzalez (Mission, TX/Sharyland), a 2023 All-Rookie pick, joined him on the team following a stellar 15-win campaign and 5-3 slate at the #1 flight. Last year's NEC Rookie of the Year
Tyler Nguyen (Fountain Valley, CA/Independence) also earned a spot on the singles second team after a seven-win sophomore season.
The Red Flash’s dynamic duo of Nguyen
and
Mathis Tremblay (Montreal, Quebec, Canada/Académie les Estacades) earned a spot on the All-NEC doubles first team for the second straight season after a 15-8 season. The 15 doubles wins ranked second on the circuit.
Juniors
Tyler Crook (East Orange, NJ/FDU-Florham) and
Gryffin Minor (Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada/Charles P. Allen) represented FDU on the All-NEC singles second team. Crook finished the year with seven solo triumphs and a .778 winning percentage, while Minor recorded 14 wins to rank second on the Knights. Crook was also tabbed a doubles second team all-star alongside
Joshua Oboniye (Chicago, IL/Edmonton Christian) after the pair posted a perfect 6-0 record on the first court. It marked Oboniye's second consecutive appearance on the doubles second team.
LIU’s top two players earned their flowers after leading the Sharks to their first NEC title match appearance in program history. Junior
Leon Harder (Hamburg, Germany/Hochrad Gymnasium (St. Francis Brooklyn)) and senior
Philip Hilble (Sydney, Australia/Scecgs Redlands) each claimed a spot on the All-NEC singles first squad. A former NEC Rookie of the Year, Harder, went 13-7 at No. 1 singles and registered an 18-10 overall record. Hilble posted a team-high 21 singles victories, tying for second in the conference, and finished the season with an 8-1 record in the NEC. He also went 16-5 from the second spot and capped the year with by earning a spot on the NEC All-Tournament team. Harder improved on his 2024 second-team singles honor, earning a first-team distinction this spring, while Hilble made his second appearance in three years on the first-team singles squad.
After an impressive run to the NEC Tournament semifinals, including an upset of second-seeded Le Moyne, graduate students
Carlos Rodriguez Gonzalez (Galicia, Spain) and
Gabriele Zugarelli (Rome, Italy) represented Wagner on the second doubles squad after posting eight wins on the first court.
Building for the future, Wagner also tied with Le Moyne for the most All-Rookie selections with two apiece.
Wagner's
Damian Janiszewski (Warsaw, Poland/Kensington School) and
Eddie Schmidt (Ludwigsburg, Germany/Otto-Hahn Gymnasium) were honored along with Le Moyne's
Lorenzo Bortolaso (Bassano del Grappa, Italy/IT IS Enrico Fermi) and
Jacob Maravillas (Bergenfield, NJ/Homeschooled).
Stonehill’s
Guillermo Bennaton (San Pedro Sula, Honduras/Escuela Internacional Sampedrana) rounded out the six-man team that also included Suresh, the NEC Rookie of the Year.
This marked the seventh year that All-NEC honors were awarded without flight designations.
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 44th season, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of nine institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Chicago (#3), Boston (#8). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#87). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC full member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Mercyhurst, Saint Francis U, Stonehill 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 TikTok, all @NECsports.