Men’s Tennis Sweeps CCC Major Awards, Four Named All-CCC

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's tennis team swept the conference's major end-of-year awards while placing four student-athletes on the All-CCC teams, announced the league office Monday. Sophomore Alex Partyka (Moscow, Russia) was named the Commonwealth Coast Conference Player of the Year, freshman Henry Siercke (Hamburg, Germany) was selected as the Rookie of the Year, senior Andres Biondi (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) was tabbed the Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and head coach Cristian Popa was voted the Coach of the Year.

Partyka was selected to the All-CCC singles first team for the second-straight year while Siercke was also named to the All-CCC first team. Rookie Santiago Camero (Valencia, Venezuela) picked up All-CCC singles second team accolades and senior Davis Steelman (Darlington, Md.) garnered All-CCC singles third team honors. The Lions' top tandem of Partyka and Siercke was tabbed to the All-CCC doubles first team.

Partyka becomes the third player in program history to be named the Commonwealth Coast Conference Player of the Year, joining Austin Steelman (2012) and Joe Anektanasap (2006). Playing at the top singles position, he notched an 11-2 record on the year and compiled an unblemished 8-0 mark in conference competition.

Siercke picks up Eastern Nazarene's second consecutive Commonwealth Coast Conference Rookie of the Year award after Partyka was honored last spring. He posted a 12-2 record at the No. 2 slot in his first collegiate campaign and concluded conference play with a 7-0 mark.

Partyka and Siercke combined at the No. 1 doubles spot to chalk up an 8-0 record in league action.

Biondi is the third player in team history to earn the Commonwealth Coast Conference Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. A physics major with a minor in engineering, Biondi owns a 3.74 grade-point average and is a two-time Academic All-CCC selection.

Popa was voted the Commonwealth Coast Conference Coach of the Year for the third time in his career, having been recognized in 2006 and 2012. He has guided Eastern Nazarene to the Commonwealth Coast Conference playoffs in nine of his 14 seasons at the helm, including each of the past seven years.

Camero racked up a 12-5 singles record in his first collegiate season, playing between the third and fourth singles positions. The rookie wrapped up conference play with a 6-2 mark in singles matches this spring.

Steelman amassed a 17-1 record in singles action this year to lead the conference while posting a 7-1 mark in league matches playing at the fifth and sixth positions. The senior strung together an 18-match winning-streak earlier this season and won his first 16 matches of the year.

Eastern Nazarene boasts a 15-3 overall record and finished conference play with a 7-1 mark to capture a share of its first-ever CCC regular-season crown. The Lions clinched the top seed in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament and will host a semifinal match Wednesday, May 3.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene wraps up the regular season with a non-conference match against Bridgewater State April 27.