WEST BABYLON, N.Y. - Queens senior Roni Rikkonen (Tampere, Finland) has been voted the ECC Men’s Tennis Player of the Year, as voted on by the league’s four head coaches and announced on Thursday afternoon, ahead of this weekend’s 2024 ECC Men’s Tennis Championship. St. Thomas Aquinas freshman Seth Newman (Cambridge, England) earned Rookie of the Year recognition while Daemen head coach Richard Greco was tabbed the Coach of the Year.
Rikkonen went a perfect 5-0 from the No. 1 position in ECC single play this spring, defeating UDC’s No. 1 Louis Mangeon twice, STAC’s No. 1 Don Vinz Lominoque twice, and Daemen’s No. 1 Juan Alvarez once. The 2024 ECC Preseason Player of the Year and two-time ECC Player of the Week, Rikkonen went 3-3 in ECC doubles, including a 2-2 record from the No. 1 position and 1-0 record from the No. 2 position, picking up wins with Omar El Shehawey and fellow All-Conference selections Cameron Henricy and Tim Andersson. Overall, Rikkonen posted a 17-9 singles record, going 9-6 from the No. 1 position in dual matches and 8-3 in tournament play, which included a dominant performance at the ITA Men’s East Regional Singles Championship en route to the individual crown.
Newman takes home the highest rookie honor after going 5-1 in both ECC singles and doubles play in his first collegiate season. The three-time ECC Rookie of the Week went a perfect 2-0 at the No. 2 position in both singles and doubles and went 3-1 from the No. 4 spot in singles and No. 3 spot in doubles. Overall, Newman went 13-5 in singles play, primarily playing at No. 4 (7-4) and No. 2 (4-0) and dominated in doubles, going 21-4 with a 12-3 showing from the No. 3 position. With fellow freshman Henry Ronnberg, Newman won the ITA Men’s East Regional Doubles Championship in what was nothing short of an impressive rookie campaign.
Recognized by his peers as a true advocate for ECC student-athletes, Greco is the 2024 ECC Men's Tennis Coach of the Year after coaching the Wildcats to shutout wins over Nazareth, 9-0, Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, 7-0, and Saint Vincent, 7-0, and additional victories over Bloomsburg and Millennia Atlantic and in recognition of his ongoing efforts to build the men's tennis program at Daemen.
2024 ECC Men's Tennis All-Conference Team
Tim Andersson, Fr., Queens
Lucas Foix Sotos, So., Queens
Cameron Henricy, Sr., Queens
Seth Newman, Fr., St. Thomas Aquinas
Louka Queguiner, So., District of Columbia
Roni Rikkonen, Sr., Queens
Ondrej Sramek, So., St. Thomas Aquinas
Player of the Year: Roni Rikkonen, Sr., Queens
Rookie of the Year: Seth Newman, Fr., St. Thomas Aquinas
Coach of the Year: Richard Greco, Daemen