University of Minnesota Athletics
Hadash and Wernet Earn Big Ten Tennis Honors
4/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
For the first time since 2004, Minnesota landed two players on the all-Big Ten men’s tennis squad as sophomores Ishay Hadash and Tobias Wernet were both honored.
The team’s top two singles players led Minnesota to an 18-6 record and the best one-year improvement in school history after a 7-17 campaign in 2008. The Gophers earned the third seed for the Big Ten tournament and begin quarterfinal play on Friday in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Hadash, from Lapid, Israel, was a unanimous choice to the all-Big Ten team. He joined the team in January and posted a 20-10 mark while playing every match at No. 1 singles. Hadash went 7-3 in Big Ten play and enters the postseason as the nation’s 58th-ranked player. He posted a 19-9 doubles record, including a 7-2 mark with Sebastian Gallego as the tandem is currently ranked 60th in the country.
Wernet, from Mainz, Germany, is 25-8 for the season and went 8-2 against Big Ten competition. He played every match at No. 2 singles and compiled an 18-5 record in dual matches. Wernet is ranked 81st in the country and posted a straight-sets win over Big Ten Freshman of the Year Dennis Nevolo of Illinois on April 5.
The Gophers had one player named to the team each of the past four years since Chris Wettengel and Aleksey Zharinov were selected in 2004.
Ohio State's Brian Koniecko was named the Player of the Year and Buckeyes' coach Ty Tucker was the Coach of the Year.
In addition, Minnesota sophomore Sebastian Gallego was named to the all-Big Ten sportsmanship team. Gallego, a Medellin, Colombia native, played No. 3 singles this season and totaled a 23-12 record.
