Horizon League Release
Horizon League Tournament Central
INDIANAPOLIS (4/25/18) – In the midst of a banner year, the University of Detroit Mercy men's tennis team was well represented on the Horizon League postseason awards list, as voted on by the league's coaches.
Junior
Artem Vasheshnikov was named First Team All-Horizon League and senior
Nathan Ponton earned Second Team All-Horizon League honors, while head coach
Aaron Paajanen was named the Men's Tennis Coach of the Year.
Artem Vasheshnikov - First Team All-HL
Vasheshnikov earns first team honors for the second time in as many years for the red, white and blue. The junior played on the top singles and doubles lines for Detroit Mercy, collecting a 4-3 record in singles and 3-2 mark in doubles during the conference season. Vasheshnikov earned nine singles wins overall from the top of the Titan lineup and was named twice as the Horizon League Singles Player of the Week.
Nathan Ponton - Second Team All-HL
Ponton was named to the second team for the second time in his career, with the first coming during his freshman season in 2015. Ponton moved into second place in the Titan record book in career singles wins (56) after piling up 16 during the 2017-18 season. The senior went 4-3 from No. 2 singles and boasts a 7-0 record at No. 2 doubles in conference play.
Aaron Paajenen - Men's Tennis Coach of the Year
Paajanen was named the Men's Coach of the Year after leading the Titans to their first-ever regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Horizon League Tournament, becoming the first coach in program history to earn the award. Paajanen and the Titans recorded a 14-9 record overall, including a 6-1 mark in league play, to break the previous program record of 13 wins set in 1990.
The trio, along with the rest of the Titans, embark on the quest for the program's first conference tournament championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament this weekend in the
Horizon League Tournament. The Titans receive a quarterfinal bye and will face the winner of No. 4 Green Bay and No. 5 UIC in the semifinals on Saturday at 3 p.m. from Schwartz Tennis Center on the campus of Purdue University.
Player of the Year: Nico Mostardi, Cleveland State
Freshman of the Year: Matthew Terry, Cleveland State
Herb Foster Sportsmanship Award: Blaine Carr, Northern Kentucky
Coach of the Year: Aaron Paajanen, Detroit Mercy
Men's First Team All-League (alphabetical by school)
Nico Mostardi, So., Cleveland State
Artem Vasheshnikov, Jr., Detroit Mercy
Florian Kraenzler, Sr., Green Bay
David Beasley, Sr., IUPUI
Michal Kianicka, Sr., Wright State
Danylo Veremeichuk, Sr., Youngstown State
Men's Second Team All-League (alphabetical by school)
Luke Phillips, Fr., Cleveland State
Matthew Terry, Fr., Cleveland State
Nathan Ponton, Sr., Detroit Mercy
James Ling, Jr., Green Bay
Param Pun, So., Wright State
Joao Garretto, So., Youngstown State
