SURPRISE, Ariz. – For the fifth year in a row, the Azusa Pacific No. 1 singles player has been named the PacWest Player of the Year as
Jakob Schnaitter was picked by PacWest coaches for the honor as announced on Wednesday evening at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Club, during the annual tennis banquet.
Hawai`i Pacific’s No. 1 singles and doubles player
Valentine Massé was named the PacWest Newcomer of the Year, and Hawai`i Hilo’s
Martin Soukal was announced as the PacWest Freshman of the Year. The PacWest coaches voted for
Mark Bohren from Azusa Pacific and
José Hilla from Sonoma State as the PacWest Co-Coaches of the Year.
Schnaitter went undefeated in the 2019 regular season against West Region players to join Jochem Hoefnagels, Jan Meyer and Oliver Frank as the fourth player from Azusa Pacific to be named the PacWest Player of the Year. The sophomore began the year by winning the ITA West Regional tournament in the fall. During the regular season, he earned wins over
Vaclav Slezak, Massé and
Nate Oppenheim as well as leading both unfinished matches against
Thomas Dafcik. All four opponents earned All-PacWest recognition in singles. Schnaitter finished the regular season with a 16-1 record at No. 1 singles.
Massé earned six wins at No. 1 singles in his first season at Hawai`i Pacific, helping the Sharks earn the No. 1 seed at the PacWest Championships, which begin on Thursday. Massé went 4-3 against nationally-ranked opponents, including a 6-3, 6-4 win against the No. 2 player in the nation, Pierre Montrieul. Massé also had seven wins in doubles at No. 1 and two wins over nationally-ranked players. He is one of four players to earn first-team recognition in both singles and doubles.
Soukal went 10-1 in his freshman season at Hawai`i Hilo. His only loss came against No. 1 Barry and then he went on to win his final eight singles matches of the regular season at the No. 3 position. On April 6, Soukal clinched the Vulcans’ biggest win of the regular season, beating third-team All-PacWest selection
Cheng-Chieh Wang 7-3(3), 3-6, 6-3 to secure the 4-2 victory. The freshman was a second-team All-PacWest honoree in singles with third-team honors in doubles.
Bohren and Hilla tied in voting for PacWest Coach of the Year. Hilla led Sonoma State to an 8-5 record on the season and the Seawolves are currently in position to reach the NCAA West Regional for the first time since the team joined the PacWest. Bohren helped Azusa Pacific win the PacWest Championships for the first time in program history last year, and the Cougars are one of the top-ranked teams in the nation again this year. Bohren earned his 500th career victory this season. Despite losing his top-2 singles players from last year’s champion team, Bohren led Azusa Pacific to the best record in the PacWest at 21-2, and the Cougars are the only team to have beaten Hawai`i Hilo this year.
Schnaitter and Massé are joined on the singles first team by Slezak, Dafcik, Oppenheim and
Alessandro Giuliato from Hawai`i Hilo. Giuliato went undefeated at 11-0 this season at No. 2 singles for Hawai`i Hilo. Sonoma State’s Oppenheim was a two-time PacWest Player of the Week. Slezak had 10 wins at No. 1 singles for Hawai`i Hilo this season, including an 8-2 record in his last 10 matches. Point Loma’s Dafcik backed up his standout junior season with an even better senior season performance, going 11-1 at No. 1 singles for the Sea Lions.
| 2019 ALL-PACWEST MEN’S TENNIS AWARDS |
| Player of the Year |
Jakob Schnaitter |
Azusa Pacific |
| Newcomer of the Year |
Valentine Masse |
Hawai`i Pacific |
| Freshman of the Year |
Martin Soukal |
Hawai`i Hilo |
| Coach of the Year |
Mark Bohren
Jose Hilla |
Azusa Pacific
Sonoma State |
| 2019 ALL-PACWEST MEN’S TENNIS SINGLES |
| Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| FIRST TEAM |
| Jakob Schnaitter * |
Azusa Pacific |
So. |
Wasserburg, Germany |
| Vaclav Slezak ** |
Hawai`i Hilo |
Sr. |
Zdice, Czech Republic |
| Thomas Dafcik * |
Point Loma |
Sr. |
Munich, Germany |
| Alessandro Giuliato * |
Hawai`i Hilo |
So. |
South Maurizo, Italy |
| Valentine Massé |
Hawai`i Pacific |
So. |
Saint-Gaudens, France |
| Nate Oppenheim * |
Sonoma State |
Sr. |
Sebastopol, Calif. |
| SECOND TEAM |
| Martin Soukal |
Hawai`i Hilo |
Fr. |
Brno, Czech Republic |
| Ryan Nuno |
Azusa Pacific |
So. |
Sylmar, Calif. |
| Yassine Smiej |
Concordia |
Fr. |
Ragata, Morocco |
| Maxime Gayte * |
Hawai`i Pacific |
So. |
Annacy, France |
| Hugo Colpart ** |
Holy Names |
Sr. |
Poitiers, France |
| Santiago Sarudiansky |
Sonoma State |
So. |
Cordoba, Argentina |
| THIRD TEAM |
| Benjamin Loccisano * |
Hawai`i Pacific |
So. |
Duisburg, Germany |
| Cheng-Chieh Wang |
Hawai`i Pacific |
Fr. |
Chiayi City, Taiwan |
| Ondrej Ctverak |
Hawai`i Pacific |
Fr. |
Czech Republic |
| Derek James |
Biola |
Jr. |
Phoenix, Ariz. |
| Edwyn Ramos |
Biola |
Fr. |
Sydney, Australia |
| Alex Vinée-Munoz * |
Holy Names |
So. |
Poitiers, France |
| 2019 ALL-PACWEST MEN’S TENNIS DOUBLES |
| School |
Name |
Year |
Hometown |
| FIRST TEAM |
| Hawai`i Hilo |
Vaclav Slezak *
Alessandro Giuliato * |
Sr.
So. |
Zdice, Czech Republic
South Maurizo, Italy |
| Hawai`i Pacific |
Maxime Gayte *
Valentine Massé |
So.
So. |
Annecy, France
Saint-Gaudens, France |
| Azusa Pacific |
Jesse Haas
Jakob Schnaitter * |
So.
So. |
Idaho Falls, Idaho
Wasserburg, Germany |
| SECOND TEAM |
| Point Loma |
Thomas Dafcik *
Yuki Okamoto * |
Sr.
Jr. |
Munich, Germany
Tokyo, Japan |
| Sonoma State |
Max Nudell
Nate Oppenheim * |
Jr.
Sr. |
Agoura Hills, Calif.
Sebastopol, Calif. |
| Hawai`i Pacific |
Lukas Bauer
Cheng-Chieh Wang |
So.
Fr. |
Gottingen, Germany
Chiayi City, Taiwan |
| THIRD TEAM |
| Hawai`i Hilo |
Martin Soukal
Chun En Wu |
Fr.
So. |
Brno, Czech Republic
Taipei, Taiwan |
| Holy Names |
Alex Vinée-Munoz *
Hugo Colpart ** |
So.
Sr. |
Poitiers, France
Poitiers, France |
| Azusa Pacific |
Leyton Bohren
Ryan Nuno |
Fr.
So. |
Claremont, Calif.
Sylmar, Calif. |
*Previous All-PacWest selection