2020-21 Great Midwest Men's Tennis All-Conference Team
OWENSBORO, Ky. – As four postseason team qualifiers make their way down to Kentucky, the traditional Great Midwest Athletic Conference All-Conference Team was announced for men’s tennis on Thursday afternoon.
Sixteen different individuals as voted on by the coaches were recognized on the list for their work on the court in the 2020-21 season.
Eight student-athletes were named to the first team and eight more were on the second team. Individual honors, including player of the year, freshman of the year and coach of the year were also released while the regular season championship trophy will also be presented on site.
No. 1 Hillsdale, No. 2 Walsh, No. 3 Tiffin and No. 4 Findlay, are preparing to compete in the Great Midwest Championship bracket hosted by Kentucky Wesleyan College at Centre Courts. The semifinals will take place on Friday before the two finalists will battle for the tournament trophy on Saturday.
The 2020-21 Great Midwest Player of the Year was Walsh junior Jakob Riglewski. Riglewski was near perfect in singles action as the Cavaliers’ top rotation option while going 15-2 overall. He was also 11-6 in doubles playing the No. 1 spot primarily with teammate Alex Media Puigmarti.
Riglewski was joined on the all-conference team with second-team selection Filipp Kulynych as the Cavaliers get ready to face Tiffin in the semifinal round. The Dragons placed four on the all-conference team, the second-most selections only behind Hillsdale.
Hillsdale’s Keith Turner was pronounced as the Great Midwest Coach of the Year. The Chargers are bidding for a regional appearance after appearing in the under consideration list by the regional advisory committee and staked claim to the regular season conference title. Hillsdale was undefeated in the league schedule at 5-0 and going into the postseason with a 13-2 overall record.
The Great Midwest Freshman of the Year was Brennan Cimpeanu, who went an unbeaten 13-0 in singles while locking down the No. 2 spot in the rotation. Cimpeanu is the brother of women’s standout Hannah, who was also named to the all-conference first team earlier this afternoon.
The first-year student-athlete from Troy, Mich., also had a 14-1 record in doubles while his primary playing partner was another all-conference honoree, Gabe Katz.
Findlay placed three on the all-conference team, including first teamer Jorge Barnuevo. The first selection of the Elite 23 Award went to Walsh senior Clemens Wagner, a Business Management major with minors in Finance and Economics.