SURPRISE, Ariz.--The Azusa Pacific Cougars are 19-0 on the season and are the No. 1 seed in the 2024 Pacific West Conference Championships, which start tomorrow at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex. It would make sense that they carried away a bounty of awards announced on Wednesday night at the tournament banquet.
Win they did, claiming three of the four special awards.
Mark Bohren was named the Coach of the Year,
Elias Emilio Walter is the Player of the Year, and
Soeren Grandke was selected by the conference's coaches as Freshman of the Year. Biola's
Nico Ramirez was honored as the Newcomer of the Year.
Mark Bohren's Cougars are ranked 13th in the latest ITA national rankings and they are the only undefeated Division II team in the country. Thye have won the close matches when they have needed to, edging conference rivals Point Loma, Biola and Concordia by 4-3 scores. Beginning with their Thursday match (9 a.m) against MSU Denver, they will be chasing their third consecutive conference title. In his 29th season at Azusa, Bohren is now 584-158 with the men's team.
Elias Emilio Walter, like his team, is also unbeaten. The German is 19-0 playing on either court one or two in singles. Since moving to court one exclusively in mid March, he has beaten two of the top players in the conference in Hawai`i Hilo's Ryo Minakata by the score of 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (5-7), 10-4 and Biola's Ramirez, 7-5, 6-3. In doubles on court one he is 13-2. After playing No. 3 singles a year ago for the Cougars and earning Second Team All-PacWest honors, the junior was named First Team in both singles and doubles in 2024.
Walter's teammate
Soeren Grandke made an excellent first impression and is the Freshman of the Year. Playing on singles courts two, three and four, the German native went 17-2, which included wins in five matches that went into the third set. Playing third doubles, Grandke is 15-3 heading into the conference tournament, including 12 wins in a row.
Nico Ramirez arrived in La Mirada after playing four seasons at Lee University (Tenn.). The Spain native put a target on his back immediately, winning the Fall ITA West Region tournament, topping 2023 PacWest Player of the Year Alexander Leischner (Point Loma) in the final. Heading into the conference tournament, Ramirez is 13-4 this spring and is currently ranked No. 32 in the ITA national listing. He is a First Team selection in both singles and doubles.
Joining Walter and Ramirez on the First Team in singles is Point Loma's
Alexander Leischner, APU's
Miha Velicki, Hawai`i Hilo's
Ryo Minakata, and Hawai`i Pacific's
Robin Sanz, his third All-PacWest selection. Fellow Shark
Jakub Beran (Second Team) was also named All-PacWest for the third time.
Velicki, Leischner and Walter picked up the third All-PacWest doubles plaques of their careers. Velicki and Walter represented APU on the First Team, while Ramirez teammed with
Adrian Solorzano and Beran and teammated
Mile Matic were also selected by the coaches.
To follow the PacWest tournament, which runs Thursday-Saturday, go to the Championships page by
clicking here.
| 2024 ALL-PACWEST MEN’S TENNIS AWARDS |
| Player of the Year |
Elias Emilio Walter |
Azusa Pacific |
| Newcomer of the Year |
Nico Ramirez |
Biola |
| Freshman of the Year |
Soeren Grandke |
Azusa Pacific |
| Coach of the Year |
Mark Bohren |
Azusa Pacific |
| 2024 ALL-PACWEST MEN’S TENNIS SINGLES |
| Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| FIRST TEAM |
| Alexander Leischner* |
Point Loma |
Jr. |
Aichach, Germany |
| Miha Velicki |
Azusa Pacific |
Sr. |
Maribor, Slovenia |
| Nico Ramirez |
Biola |
Sr. |
Castellon, Spain |
| Ryo Minakata |
Hawai`i Hilo |
Sr. |
Kobe, Japan |
| Robin Sanz** |
Hawai`i Pacific |
Sr. |
Iserlohn, Germany |
| Elias Emilio Walter** |
Azusa Pacific |
Jr. |
Willich, Germany |
| SECOND TEAM |
| Jakub Beran** |
Hawai`i Pacific |
Jr. |
Drhovy, Czech Republic |
| Juho Kantola* |
MSU Denver |
Sr. |
Tuusula, Finland |
| Mattis Le Montagner |
Concordia |
Gr. |
Lorient, France |
| Cian McDonnell |
Hawai`i Hilo |
Sr. |
Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Ravi Nelson |
Fresno Pacific |
Jr. |
Sacramento, Calif. |
| Adrian Solorzano* |
Biola |
So. |
Morelia, Mexico |
| THIRD TEAM |
| Mario Aleksic |
Concordia |
Jr. |
Budva, Montenegro |
| Alejandro Flores Monteverde |
Biola |
Fr. |
Mexicali, Mexico |
| Austin Stone |
Westmont |
So. |
Carpinteria, Calif. |
| Andrew Suver |
Point Loma |
Sr. |
Seattle, Wash. |
| Logan Thompson |
Westmont |
Sr. |
West Linn, Ore. |
| Jim Walder |
Hawai`i Pacific |
So. |
Hagen, Germany |
| David Strassburger |
Point Loma |
Gr. |
Stuttgart, Germany |
| 2024 ALL-PACWEST MEN’S TENNIS DOUBLES |
| School |
Name |
Year |
Hometown |
| FIRST TEAM |
| Biola |
Adrian Solorzano*
Nico Ramirez |
So.
Sr. |
Morelia, Mexico
Castellon, Spain |
| Azusa Pacific |
Miha Velicki**
Elias Emilio Walter** |
Jr.
Jr. |
Maribor, Slovenia
Willach, Germany |
| Hawai`i Pacific |
Jakub Beran
Mile Matic |
Jr.
So. |
Drhovy, Czech Republic
Ljubuski, Bosnia |
| SECOND TEAM |
| Westmont |
Austin Stone
Ethan Ha |
So.
Sr. |
Carpinteria, Calif.
Carpinteria, Calif. |
| Point Loma |
Alexander Leischner**
David Strassburger |
Jr.
Gr. |
Aichbach, Germany
Stuttgart, Germany |
| Hawai`i Hilo |
Ryo Minakata
Lamar Bartley |
Sr.
Sr. |
Kobe, Japan
London, England |
| THIRD TEAM |
| MSU Denver |
Juho Kantola*
Marco Jalalian |
Sr.
Jr. |
Tuusula, Finland
Hanover, Germany |
| Fresno Pacific |
Ben Croneau
Sven Bangert |
Jr.
Jr. |
Giessen, Germany
Heidelberg, Germany |
| Hawai`i Pacific |
Jim Walder
Lennard Richter |
So.
Gr. |
Hagen, Germany
Germany |
*Previous All-PacWest selection