Saints' Tykhonenko repeats as Player of the Year to lead men's tennis awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The College of St. Scholastica and the University of Northwestern each got a taste of Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men's tennis glory as the Saints won a 22nd-consecutive regular season title and the Eagles took the tournament title in 2018. Now, both teams are being rewarded in the postseason as the Saints' Serhii Tykohnenko repeated as UMAC Player fo the Year and the Eagles' leader Matt Swigart was selected Coach of the Year by his peers, announced Tuesday.
For the second year in a row, Tykhonenko anchored a solid Saints' squad at the top of the line up going a perfect 4-0 in UMAC singles at No. 1 and an impressive 6-0 at No. 1 doubles. In a weather shortened season, the sophomore standout compiled 10 total singles wins as has already knotted 23 career singles victories in his two seasons with the Saints.
All of Tykhonenko's conference singles wins came in straight-sets and he also collected four total postseason victories between singles and doubles last week. He helped the Saints finish an untarnished 7-0 in conference play and 9-10 overall.
While the Saints dominated the regular season, it didn't come easy as Swigart's Eagles gave them a test in the final weekend of the season before falling 6-3. However, Swigart's squad was prepared for the conference tournament title match with so much more on the line than ever. Finally, in a seventh-straight meeting in the playoff championship match, the Eagles found a way to take down the Saints 5-4 on the road to secure a first-ever tournament title and earn the conference's first-ever automatic qualifying berth to the NCAA Championship.
This season, Swigart led the Eagles to a 6-1 conference record and 13-10 overall mark heading into regional competition Thursday. He coached five different players to four or more UMAC singles wins including seniors CJ Lloyd and Josh Kimball who are the only two players on this year's All-UMAC list to earn honors each of their four collegiate seasons.
The regular season champion Saints led all teams with five players named all-conference including Bryce Gadke who has been selected in each of his three seasons with the Saints. Landon Ridpath of Northwestern also achieved the same feat of three-straight all-conference awards. Dexter Jackson of Bethany Lutheran College is the only other player in addition to Tyohonenko to repeat as a All-UMAC performer.
Each year the UMAC recognizes the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represented sportsmanship throughout the entire season. Martin Luther College earned the honor this season. Each team also had one representative on the individual sportsmanship award list.
Player of the Year Award* – Serhii Tykhonenko, So., St. Scholastica
Coach of the Year Award – Matt Swigart, Northwestern
First-Team UMAC All-Conference
| Name |
Year |
School |
Hometown/High School |
| Josiah Borst |
Jr. |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Becker, Minn./Becker |
| Trace Combs |
Sr. |
St. Scholastica |
White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake |
| Bryce Gadke |
Jr. |
St. Scholastica |
Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield |
| Dexter Jackson |
Sr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Chicago, Ill./De La Salle |
| Jack Kearney |
Fy. |
St. Scholastica |
Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing |
| Josh Kimball |
Jr. |
Northwestern |
Waseca, Minn./Waseca |
| Laine Larson |
Jr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Long Prairie, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle |
| CJ Lloyd |
Sr. |
Northwestern |
Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View |
| Landon Ridpath |
Jr. |
Northwestern |
St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Tech |
| Elliot Schneider |
Fy. |
St. Scholastica |
Duluth, Minn./Duluth East |
| Serhii Tykhonenko* |
Fy. |
St. Scholastica |
Kiev, Ukraine/Lyceum #100 "Podil" |
| Dalton Werckman |
Jr. |
Bethany Lutheran |
Foley, Minn./Foley |
UMAC Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award – Martin Luther
Bethany Lutheran – Laine Larson, Jr., Long Prairie, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle
Crown – Chad Anenson, Sr., Mayer, Minn./Mayer Lutheran
Martin Luther – Ethan Schultz, Sr., Waukesha, Wis./Luther Prep
Minnesota Morris – Andy Haley, Sr., Waseca, Minn./Waseca
North Central – Noah Ramsby, So., Detroit, Mich./Parkway Christian
Northwestern – Josh Kimball, Sr., Waseca, Minn./Waseca
St. Scholastica – Trace Combs, Sr., White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake
Wisconsin-Superior – Clayton Tanner, So., Waseca, Minn./Waseca