MANSFIELD, Mass. – Adelphi's Marko Jovanovic became just the fourth player in Northeast-10 Conference history to earn Vern Cox Player of the Year for a third time, as the league office announced All-Conference awards in men's tennis on Friday morning.
Jovanovic is the first to win Player of the Year in three seasons since Southern New Hampshire's Tiago Fernandes accomplished the feat from 2017 to 2019. Overall, he is just the fourth player to do it - also following in the footsteps of Assumption's Sean Kenney and Bryant's Roman Pavlik, who each won it four times.
Andrea Albiero joined his Jovanovic, his Adelphi teammate, as a major award winner by being named Rookie of the Year. Additionally, Franklin Pierce's Alejandro Andres earned his second-straight honor as NE10 Coach of the Year.
Franklin Pierce led all NE10 programs with six players earning seven All-Conference selections, while Adelphi tallied a league-best four players and four selections on the First Team. Adelphi was the regular season champion with a 9-1 conference record, earning the top seed in the NE10 Men's Tennis Championship.
Jovanovic was 9-0 at No. 1 singles this season, leading Adelphi to its third-consecutive regular season title. Three of his victories came over Assumption's Herman Aguirre and Southern New Hampshire's Cade Nadeau, who both earned Second Team honors at No. 1 singles. Jovanovic is a three-time selection to First Team All-Conference in his career and he won the NE10 Elite 24 Award at last year's championship for his outstanding work in the classroom.
Albiero was 5-0 in singles play this season, including 3-0 at No. 3 singles, on his way to being named Rookie of the Year and First Team All-Conference. One of his biggest victories in the spring was a 6-1, 6-3 win over Franklin Pierce's Alejandro Ortiz at No. 4 singles, which helped Adelphi to a 4-3 win and a clear path to the NE10 regular season title. Albiero also earned a spot on the All-Rookie Team.
Andres was named Coach of the Year for a second consecutive time after leading the Ravens to a 7-3 conference record and the No. 2 seed in the NE10 Men's Tennis Championship. Over the final month of the regular season, Andres led his team to four conference victories - with only two conference losses to Adelphi and Assumption, both by a 4-3 margin. He remains the only Franklin Pierce coach to ever win the award.
The NE10 Men's Tennis Championship begins on Saturday, as four teams will compete in the semifinal round at the U.S. National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. Adelphi will serve as host. Visit Championship Central for the full schedule.
The NE10 Player of the Year award is named in honor of former longtime Springfield College head coach Vern Cox. All-Conference selections are based on record at a given flight and a minimum number of matches that must be played in order to be eligible.
NE10 Men's Tennis All-Conference Awards
Vern Cox Player of the Year: Marko Jovanovic, Adelphi
Rookie of the Year: Andrea Albiero, Adelphi
Coach of the Year: Alejandro Andres, Franklin Pierce
FIRST TEAM
No. 1 Singles: Marko Jovanovic, Adelphi
No. 2 Singles: Noe Martin, Franklin Pierce
No. 3 Singles: Andrea Albiero, Adelphi
No. 4 Singles: Spyridon Papageorgiou, Adelphi
No. 5 Singles: Rodrigo Ochoa, Adelphi
No. 6 Singles: Jackson Moser, Saint Michael’s
No. 1 Doubles: Joe Herin / Noe Martin, Franklin Pierce
No. 2 Doubles: Albert Modol / Phillipp Roeder, SNHU
No. 3 Doubles: Hugo Diaz Avila / Orlando Guerrero, Franklin Pierce
SECOND TEAM
No. 1 Singles: Herman Aguirre, Assumption / Cade Nadeau, SNHU
No. 2 Singles: Louca Bertone, Adelphi
No. 3 Singles: Ralph Hiebel, Franklin Pierce
No. 4 Singles: Alejandro Ortiz, Franklin Pierce
No. 5 Singles: Carlos Molero, SNHU
No. 6 Singles: Jakob Bordt, Assumption / Hugo Diaz Avila, Franklin Pierce
No. 1 Doubles: Carlos Molero / Cade Nadeau, SNHU
No. 2 Doubles: Ralph Hiebel / Alejandro Ortiz, Franklin Pierce
No. 3 Doubles: Hugo Petersson / Alec Pijnacker, Assumption
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Andrea Albiero, Adelphi
Rodrigo Ochoa, Adelphi
Spyridon Papageorgiou, Adelphi
Hugo Petersson, Assumption
Rafael Cueto, Bentley
Alessandro Bertolina, Bentley
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 11 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
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