KANSAS CITY – The Great Lakes Valley Conference announced Thursday that Lewis University senior Armand Levandi has been named the 2015 GLVC Player of the Year. He was selected by the league coaches and recognized for his efforts at an awards reception on the eve of the 2015 GLVC Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championship Tournament, which begins on Friday in Kansas City, Missouri. In addition, Christoph Drechsler of Indianapolis was named GLVC Freshman of the Year, and Drury’s Jarrod Smith was recognized by his peers as GLVC Coach of the Year, his second such honor since taking the helm four seasons ago. A total of 32 student-athletes from both the GLVC East and West Divisions were recognized as All-Conference honorees.
A February 26 Player of the Week, four-time All-GLVC choice and reigning GLVC Player of the Year, Levandi finished the regular season with an overall singles record of 25-2 with a 17-2 dual record all at No. 1, both of which are league-leading marks for wins. He partnered with two different teammates at No. 1 doubles for an overall record of 24-3 while 16-3 in dual matches. With fellow four-time All-GLVC selection and 2012 Freshman of the Year, Erik Aunapuu, the duo recorded a 19-3 No. 1 overall mark while 11-3 in doubles dual matches. The other 5-0 records overall and in dual matches came with Mate Srdanovic. The senior was 2-0 against regional opponents and concluded the regular season on an eight-match win streak, including 9-1 in the last 10 matches. In the latest ITA National Rankings, the Tallinn, Estonia, native ranks 17, the highest ranking for any GLVC men’s tennis student-athlete. Even better, alongside Aunapuu, the pair ranks 3rd nationally. In the Midwest Region, he’s atop the rankings in both singles and doubles. He was also Midwest Region singles and doubles regional champion and finished 2nd at the USTA/ITA National Championship in singles, while garnering a 5th place finish in doubles at the USTA/ITA National Championship. Levandi is the sixth player since 1997 to garner this accolade in back-to-back years.
In his first semester with the team so far, Drechsler was 6-8 overall, all of which were dual matches, although his No. 1 singles record was 5-8 and at No. 2 doubles he was 1-0, while 2-3 against conference foes. For doubles, he played all 15 dual matches at No. 1 with fellow All-GLVC honoree Tony Kostadinov. A 4-2 mark for the pair came against conference opponents, which is third best in the league. This marks the fourth Greyhound to receive the honor since 1997 and the second in a row. The only other school to earn this distinction back-to-back was Southern Indiana in 2004 and 2005.
Six schools earned two selections on the 16-member All-GLVC squad, including Drury, Indianapolis, Lewis, Missouri-St. Louis, host Rockhurst and Southern Indiana. The selections included eight players from both the East and West Divisions. Freshman Sebastien Amato and sophomore two-time selection Maximilian Hepp represent the Panthers, junior Tony Kostadinov joined Drechsler from UIndy, senior Aunapuu was the second selection for the Flyers along with Levandi, seniors Tim McLarty (three-time honoree) and Nils Mueggenburg (two-time honoree) made the cut for the Tritons, freshman Oskar Unger and senior Truit Gray were representatives for the RU Hawks while freshman Sam Kiladejo and junior Jack Joyce (2013 Freshman of the Year) join the group for the Screaming Eagles. Bellarmine senior and three-time selection Anton Rabinov, McKendree sophomore Maximilian Ilic, Quincy senior and four-time All-GLVC team member Ian Hinkamper and Truman State’s two-time selection Jake Ohlhausen round out the remaining four members of the All-GLVC team.
2015 ALL-GLVC MEN’S TENNIS POSTSEASON AWARDS
Anton Rabinov, Sr., Bellarmine
Sebastien Amato, Fr., Drury
Maximilian Hepp, So., Drury
Christoph Drechsler, Fr., Indianapolis
Tony Kostadinov, Jr., Indianapolis
Erik Aunapuu, Sr., Lewis
ARMAND LEVANDI, Sr., Lewis
Maximilian Ilic, So., McKendree
Tim McLarty, Sr., Missouri-St. Louis
Nils Mueggenburg, Sr., Missouri-St. Louis
Ian Hinkamper, Sr., Quincy
Truit Gray, Sr., Rockhurst
Oskar Unger, Fr., Rockhurst
Jack Joyce, Jr., Southern Indiana
Sam Kiladejo, Fr., Southern Indiana
Jake Ohlhausen, Sr., Truman State
2015 GLVC Player of the Year: Armand Levandi, Sr., Lewis
2015 GLVC Freshman of the Year: Christoph Drechsler, Fr., Indianapolis
2015 GLVC Coach of the Year: Jarrod Smith, Drury
*UNANIMOUS SELECTION