2023 NAIA Men's Tennis Players of the Week
Student-athletes were nominated for their performances and were selected out of a pool of conference and Continental Athletic Conference award winners.
Quick Find: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8
Player of the Week: Shaheed Alam, Keiser (Fla.)
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Alam continues to excel for the No. 1 ranked Seahawks, leading the team to their seventh straight Sun Conference Tournament Championship with wins over No. 14 Coastal Georgia and No. 6 Southeastern. The Sun Conference Freshman of the Year was dominant throughout the Sun Conference Tournament, picking up doubles wins in both matches and clinching the Sun Conference Tournament Title on Friday. |
Nominees:
Sergio Conde, Northwestern Ohio, Naufal Kamaruzzaman, Middle Georgia State, Michael Beltran, McPherson College (Kan.), Sergio Conde, Northwestern Ohio, Perry Gregg, Holy Cross (Ind.), and Tycho Janssen, Midland (Neb.).
Player of the Week: Dhakshineswar Suresh, Georgia Gwinnett
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Dhakshineswar Suresh put an exclamation point on his freshman season by posting a win in singles and doubles action in a sweep against No. 9 Middle Georgia State last Saturday. He teamed with Alex Gurmendi for a 6-0 win at No. 1 doubles. Suresh then won a straight-set 7-5, 6-4 match at No. 2 singles. This came after he picked up a 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 2 singles against NCAA Division III top-10 Emory (Ga.) on April 18. Suresh finished the 2023 regular season with a 17-0 singles record, with all 17 wins coming in straight sets. He is the top-ranked doubles player with Gurmendi with an 11-0 record and a 17-0 overall doubles record. |
Nominees: Michael Beltran, McPherson (Kan.), Mattis Le Montagner, Cumberlands (Ky.), Benjamin Starman, Midland (Neb.), Francisco Faundea, IU East, Naufal Kamaruzzaman, Middle Georgia State, Nicholas Klak, Aquinas (Mich.), and Mathieu Strauss, Xavier (La.).
Player of the Week: Diego Menendez, Southeastern (Fla.)
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Menendez improved to 13-2 on the year and 5-1 in Sun Conference matches with a pair of singles wins. In doubles play, he and Christian Garay have won their last five matches to improve to 14-5 on the year, playing the entire season at the top flight. The two wins for the Fire over the weekend set a new program record for wins in a season. |
Nominees: Hung Ju Wu, Cumberlands (Ky.), Giovanni Branchetti, Northwestern Ohio, Milan Bucek, Bethel College (Kan.), Perry Gregg, Holy Cross College (Ind.), Anton Magnusson, Wiliam Carey (Miss.), Tomas Ojeda, Oakland City (Ind.), and Benjamin Starman, Midland (Neb.).
Player of the Week: Christian Garay, Southeastern (Fla.)
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Garay helped the Fire defeat the No. 10 team in Division II by winning his singles match against a ranked opponent and helped the Fire take the doubles point by teaming with Diego Menendez to win their No. 1 Doubles match in a tiebreaker against the tenth-ranked pair in Division II. |
Nominees: Jacobi Bain, Xavier (La.), Martin Millos, McPherson (Kan.), Andre Baltazar, Oakland City (Ind.), Danail Banov, Cardinal Stritch (Wis.), Jorge Chevez, Doane (Neb.), Adrijan Hrzic, Cumberland (Tenn.), Andrew Jimenez, Cornerstone (Mich.), Noah Rockstroh, William Carey (Miss.), Eric Stavheim, Saint Francis (Ind.), and Bryce Ware, Kansas Wesleyan.
Player of the Week: Alex Gurmendi, Georgia Gwinnett
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Alex Gurmendi played a huge role in the Grizzlies knocking off a pair of top-10 ranked teams at the NCAA collegiate ranks by going 3-0 for the week. He knocked off the top-ranked singles player in Division II Santiago Perez of Columbus State by a convincing 6-1, 6-1 score. His singles triumph squared the match as the Grizzlies had to rally after dropping the doubles point to the D2 No. 6-ranked Cougars. Then, Gurmendi scored a pair of victories in a road win against D3 No. 7 Emory on Sunday. The junior defeated No. 3 regionally ranked singles player Andrew Esses in straight sets on the No. 1 court. That came after an 8-4 doubles victory on the No. 1 court. Gurmendi improved to 12-1 on the season in singles action and an undefeated doubles record in 15 matches this spring. |
Nominees: Martin Mueller, University of the Cumberlands (Ky.), Perry Gregg, Holy Cross (Ind.), Ryosei Masuda, Midland (Neb.), Josh Parish, Lourdes (Ohio), Nereo Suarez, Xavier (La.), Francisco Javier Arce Vieyra, Loyola (La.), Lakshay Vivek, Midway (Ky.), and Bryce Ware, Kansas Wesleyan
Player of the Week: Oscar Giorgio, Ottawa (Kan.)
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In three matches last week, Giorgio had a record of 3-0 in singles and 3-0 in doubles. He played No. 1 singles against EU, No. 2 versus OKWU, and No. 3 against Sterling. In doubles, Giorgio and partner Julian Toloza played No. 2 against EU and OKWU. The duo played the No. 1 doubles against Sterling. |
Nominees:
Alex Gurmendi, Georgia Gwinnett, Diego Menendez, Southeastern (Fla.), Luca McManus, Holy Cross College (Ind.), Santiago Abadia, Concordia (Neb.), Ashwin Bhat, Marian (Ind.), Kaden Buchanan, Johnson (Tenn.), Theo Casadei, Lourdes (Ohio), Francisco Perez Esnoala, Oakland City (Ind.), Remus Hebhang-Balan, Loyola (La.), Julius Hell, Xavier (La.), Mattis Le Montagner, Cumberlands (Ky.), and Julian Parada, Cumberland (Tenn.).
Player of the Week: Shaheed Alam, Keiser (Fla.)
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A long week for the Seahawks resulted in two top-3 D-III wins and a Division I win over Niagara. Alam took advantage of the games, picking up three wins in singles play. In doubles, he partnered with Martin Carrizo to post a 3-1 record on the week. |
Nominees:
Dhakshineswar Suresh, Georgia Gwinnett, Jacobi Bain, Xavier (La.) , Sergio Conde, UNOH, Francisco Javier Arce Vieyra, Loyola (La.), Gerrrett Benjamin, Johnson (Tenn.), Milan Bucek, Bethel (Kan.), Sergio Conde, Northwestern Ohio, Mattis Le Montagner, Cumberlands (Ky.), Mark Trenkle, Morningside (Iowa), and Paul Wamba, Midway (Ky.).
Week 1 (March 15, 2023)
Player of the Week: Bruno Duarte, Ave Maria (Fla.)
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Duarte played a huge role in Ave Maria's biggest regular season win in program history, a 4-0 triumph over No. 8 Xavier (La.). Duarte helped the Gyrenes claim the doubles point with a tiebreaker win at the third flight, then earned a dominant singles win at the fifth flight to help the Gyrenes topple their first-ever top-ten opponent. |
Nominees:
Valentin Ortiz, Pikeville (Ky.), Michael Beltran, McPherson College (Kan.), Kaden Buchanan, Johnson (Tenn.), Hugo Fuentes, Concordia (Neb.), Alex Gurmendi, Georgia Gwinnett, Martin Muller, Cumberlands (Ky.), Jose Andres Perez Perez, Oakland City (Ind.), Jasper Schaadt, Cardinal Stritch (Wis.), Nereo Suarez, Xavier (La.), Alvaro Trillo-Sanchez, Lourdes (Ohio), and Francisco Arce Vieyra, Loyola (La.)
2023 Composite Winners
