NEW YORK – The 2019 BIG EAST Men’s Tennis all-conference awards have been released. St. John’s senior Andrei Crapcenco was selected Player of the Year after leading the Red Storm to the BIG EAST Championship title as the top seed. DePaul’s Vito Tonejc was named Freshman of the Year, while St. John’s garnered Coaching Staff of the Year accolades under first-year head coach Dillon Pottish.
The Red Storm led the way with four All-BIG EAST selections, followed by BIG EAST Championship runner-up Marquette with three. Butler secured a player on the first and second team.
Crapcenco held an 11-3 overall singles record this season at the No. 1 spot. He went 6-1 versus BIG EAST opponents this season on the top court. His only loss was against fellow first-teamer Alvaro Verdu of Marquette. The senior led St. John’s to the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Championship and went undefeated in his three singles matches on the top court in the tournament.
Tonejc secured a 16-5 overall record, mostly at No. 1 singles throughout the season. He was 6-1 against BIG EAST competition, falling only to Crapcenco. The freshman helped the Blue Demons secure the No. 4 seed in the BIG EAST Championship and defeated second-team selection Nick Campbell of Creighton in the quarterfinals at the No. 1 spot.
St. John’s coaching staff, led by first-year head coach Dillion Pottish, won the 2019 BIG EAST Championship crown. They defeated No. 3 seed Marquette, 4-3, in the title match to capture the BIG EAST’s automatic qualification in the NCAA Tournament. The team went 19-5 overall, 4-0 against league opponents and 9-0 at home this season. The Johnnies won their first BIG EAST title since taking three straight from 2014-16.
Joining Crapcenco and Tonejc on the All-BIG EAST First Team are senior Mason Dragos (Butler), junior Luke Smrek (Marquette) and senior Alvaro Verdu (Marquette). All-BIG EAST Second Team selections are freshman Thomas Brennan (Butler), freshman Nick Campbell (Creighton), sophomore Luis Heredia Gomez (Marquette), sophomore Aditya Vashistha (St. John’s), senior Dusan Vukicevic (St. John’s) and junior Tyler Roth (Villanova).
2019 BIG EAST Men’s Tennis Awards
Player of the Year: Andrei Crapcenco, St. John’s, Sr.
Freshman of the Year: Vito Tonejc, DePaul
Coaching Staff of the Year: St. John’s
All-BIG EAST First Team
Mason Dragos, Butler, Sr.
Vito Tonejc, DePaul, Fr.
Luke Smrek, Marquette, Jr.
Alvaro Verdu, Marquette, Sr.
Andrei Crapcenco, St. John’s, Sr.
Alan Nunez Aguilera, St. John’s, Sr.
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Thomas Brennan, Butler, Fr.
Nick Campbell, Creighton, Fr.
Luis Heredia Gomez, Marquette, So.
Aditya Vashistha, St. John’s, So.
Dusan Vukicevic, St. John’s, Sr.
Tyler Roth, Villanova, Jr.