Following a vote by the league's head coaches, the Liberty League announced its 2021-22 Men's Tennis Major Awards and All-League teams.
LIBERTY LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Aiden Drover-Mattinen, First-Year, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
RPI first-year player Aiden Drover-Mattinen was selected as the Liberty League Player of the Year. Drover-Mattinen compiled a 24-1 singles record, including an unblemished 16-0 record at first singles. He also went 15-3 at first doubles along with senior Peter Lohrbach, earning an invitation to the NCAA Division III individual singles and doubles championships, May 27-29, at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. Drover-Mattinen's only loss to a Division III opponent this year came against teammate, junior Abraham Yohannes in the quarterfinals of the ITA Northeast Regional, 6-3, 7-6. He did not lose a singles match during the spring season. Drover-Mattinen is ranked first in both the ITA Northeast Region and NCAA Region II in singles play. He and Lohrbach are ranked fifth in the ITA Northeast and first in NCAA Region II in doubles.
LIBERTY LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: John Rado, Skidmore College
Skidmore College first-year player John Rado was selected as the Liberty League Rookie of the Year. Rado went 22-11 in singles play, including 7-1 in Liberty League regular-season matches. He emerged onto the season with a strong fall campaign, first winning the 'C' flight at the Middlebury Invitational. The following week, he won the ITA Northeast Regional championship, going 6-0 and earning an invitation to the ITA Cup in Rome, Ga. Following the fall season, Rado was ranked third in the ITA Northeast singles rankings and 12th nationally. During the spring, he competed in the first, second and third singles spots, earning the decisive victory at third singles in the Liberty League semifinals against Hobart. In doubles play, he went 9-5 at first doubles with junior Sergiu Celebidachi as the pair was selected as third alternates in the NCAA doubles competition.
LIBERTY LEAGUE COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – Jon Satkowski, Head Coach; Assistant Coach Winston Yu
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute head coach Jon Satkowski and assistant coach Winston Yu were selected as the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year. Satkowski led the Engineers to a 16-3 overall record, an 8-0 mark in Liberty League regular-season play and a Liberty League championship. RPI, ranked 22nd nationally, advanced to the third round of the NCAA Division III championship where it fell to fourth-ranked Middlebury, 5-2. The Engineers singles lineup consisted of three first-year players - Aiden Drover-Mattinen, Emilio Van Cotthem and Igor Visnevskij - in the top three positions while going a combined 38-5 in dual-match singles play. RPI compiled a 14-match winning streak that encompassed more than two months, from a win over Northwood on March 7 to a win over MIT on May 13 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM (SINGLES)
Sergiu Celebidachi, Jr., Skidmore
Aiden Drover-Mattinen, Fr., RPI
Winter Fagerberg, So., Hobart
Zachary Portnoy, So., Skidmore
John Rado, Fr., Skidmore
Emilio Van Cotthem, Fr., RPI
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM (DOUBLES)
Sergiu Celebidachi, Jr. / John Rado, Fr., Skidmore
Aidan Drover-Mattinen, Fr. / Peter Lohrbach, Sr., RPI
Sean Pesin, So. / Jett Wright, Jr., Hobart
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM (SINGLES)
Brendan Jimenez, Jr., Skidmore
Harry Lyu, Jr., Hobart
Sean Pesin, So., Hobart
Igor Visnevskij, Fr., RPI
Jay Wong, So., Vassar
Abraham Yohannes, Jr., RPI
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM (DOUBLES)
Arnav Agostinho, Fr. / Mathew Yee, Sr., Vassar
Brendan Jimenez, Jr. / Zachary Portnoy, So., Skidmore
Max Safanov, So. / Igor Visnevskij, Fr., RPI
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION (SINGLES)
Benjamim Almquist, So., Vassar
Ben Jacobs, Fr., Union
Nicolas Luis, So., Ithaca
Nathan Turtledove, Jr., St. Lawrence
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION (DOUBLES)
Harry Lyu, Jr. / Troy Steiner, Fr., Hobart
Ben Moolman, So. / Nathan Turtledove, Jr., St. Lawrence