Ferris State's von Winning Earns GLIAC Men's Tennis Player of the Year

Ferris State's von Winning Earns GLIAC Men's Tennis Player of the Year

BAY CITY, Mich. - Ferris State sophomore Till von Winning has been selected 2017 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Men's Tennis Player of the Year by league coaches as announced by the conference office on Sunday (April 23). Wayne State newcomer Mats Westkamp gathered GLIAC Freshman of the Year honors after an impressive debut season. Tiffin coach Phil Conley was voted Coach of the Year after another impressive season guiding the Dragons.

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Till von Winning - Ferris State

Sophomore standout Till Von Winning led the nationally 15th-ranked Ferris State Bulldogs to the program's third consecutive GLIAC Championship in the regular-season. As the squad's number one singles player, Von Winning posted an 8-1 league record in conference action. He also paired up at the top doubles position with Steward Sell to go a perfect 9-0 in GLIAC play. Overall this spring, Von Winning has notched a 13-3 singles record in dual action along with a 12-4 doubles mark. Behind the play of the second-year standout, the Bulldogs won 16 of their 18 regular-season matches this season and were unbeaten (9-0) in the GLIAC. FSU also earned the number one seed for the league tournament and has been ranked as the top team in the Midwest Region.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Mats Westkamp - Wayne State

Wayne State University newcomer Mats Westkamp (Bonn, Germany) was voted GLIAC Freshman of the Year by the league's head coaches.  He becomes the third WSU men's tennis student-athlete to win the award in program history, following Miguel Cobbs in 2004 and Antoine Marenaud in 2007.

Westkamp helped lead the Warriors to a 6-3 conference record, which was tied-for-third.  Wayne State concluded the regular-season with an 8-5 Division II record as Westkamp compiled an 11-7 mark at No. 1 singles, including a 6-3 record in conference play.  Despite being paired with two different partners (Griffin Mertz and Taylor Vane) during the season, Westkamp earned a 6-3 doubles record during GLIAC competition, including a 3-2 mark at first doubles. In WSU's 5-4 setback at GLIAC Champion Ferris State, Westkamp won his No. 1 singles match in straight sets against this year's GLIAC Athlete of the Year, Till von Winning.


COACH OF THE YEAR: Phil Conley - Tiffin

Phil Conley was named GLIAC Men's Tennis Coach of the Year after leading the Dragons to a 16-7 overall record, the second highest win total in program history. The Dragons finished third overall in the GLIAC with a 6-3 mark. It was Tiffin's highest conference finish in three seasons. He also helped guide the Dragons to three victories over ranked opponents and a regional ranking of 9th in the Midwest Region.

A complete list of the 2017 All-GLIAC Men's Tennis teams is below:

2017 All-GLIAC Men's Tennis Teams

First Team All-Conference

Name

School

Yr.

Hometown/High School 

Oriol Ferrer

Findlay

Jr.

Barcelona, Spain / Ipsi

Sebastien Lescoulie

Grand Valley State

So.

Carbondale, Ill. / Community

Kobus Saurerman

Northwood

Fr.

Albertinia, South Africa

Stew Sell

Ferris State

So.

Kalamazoo, Mich. / Portage Northern

Vasil Surduk

Ferris State

Sr.

Moscow, Russia / #1481

Vasily Vidmanov

Walsh

Jr.

Prague, Czech Republic / Russian Embassy School

Till von Winning

Ferris State

So.

Schopfheim, Germany / Theodor-Heuss-Gymnasium

Mats Westkamp

Wayne State

Fr.

Bonn, Germany / Beethoven-Gymnasium Bonn

Austin Woody

Northwood

Sr.

Midland, Mich. / Dow

Second Team All-Conference

Name

School

Yr.

Hometown/High School

Charlie Adams

Hillsdale

Fr.

Knoxville, Tenn. / Bearden

Clement Charriere

Wayne State

Sr.

Marseille, France / Chevreul Blancarde

Jack Geissler

Grand Valley State

Fr.

Joliet, Ill. / Catholic Academy

Justin Hyman

Hillsdale

So.

Oakland Township, Mich.

Nur Adim Iswan

Ferris State

So.

Makassar, Indonesia / Sman 1 Cileungse

Luis Ludena

Tiffin

Sr.

Turmero, Venezuela

Milan Mirkovic

Hillsdale

Fr.

Split, Croatia / High School of Chemistry and Biology

Zach Phillips

Grand Valley State

Sr.

Harbor Springs, Mich. / Petoskey

Taylor Vane

Wayne State

So.

Southampton, England / Peter Symonds College

Honorable Mention Team

Name

School

Yr.

Hometown/High School

Daniil Tarantinov

Ferris State

Jr.

Moscow, Russia / #1409

Carlos Blanco

Findlay

So.

Caracas, Miranda / Fray Luis Amigo

Jack Heiniger

Grand Valley State

Sr.

Munster, Ind.

Dugan Delp

Hillsdale

Jr.
Toledo, Ohio / Central Catholic
Jake Prime

Lake Superior State

Jr. Doncaster, United Kingdom / Hayfield
Mario Neto

Michigan Tech

So. Santos, Brazil

Francois Sauerman

Northwood

Fr.

Albertinia, South Africa

Sorin Navrotchi

Tiffin

Sr.

Moutfort-Luxemborg

Ross Whittaker

Walsh

Sr.

Massillon, Ohio / Lake

Griffin Mertz

Wayne State

So.

Farmington Hills, Mich. / North Farmington