The Emory University men's tennis team was well represented on the All-University Athletic Association Team Tuesday afternoon as the selections were announced by the league office.
Senior Andrew Esses was honored with First Team singles acclaim and was joined on the First Team by doubles duo graduate student Charlie James and junior Ryan Glanville. James added Second Team kudos in singles and was joined on the Second Team in singles by freshman Dean Kamenev, who also took home one of the top league honors by being the latest Eagle to be tabbed as Rookie of the Year.
Rounding out the Emory selections were sophomore Emilio Van Cotthem as an honorable mention singles performer as well as juniors Samuel Dean and Nolan Shah who added Honorable Mention nods in doubles.
Kamenev becomes just the sixth player in team history to earn Rookie of the Year honors and the first since Jonathan Jemison in 2016. He currently stands second on the team with 17 singles wins, going 17-4 overall, including a 15-3 mark in dual matches. He stood 10-1 at the No. 3 position before settling into the No. 2 spot to being postseason play.
For Esses, this marks his fourth straight year he is honored for his singles play and the first as a member of the First Team. While playing at the No. 1 line, Esses is 8-8 in 20 matches and has led the Eagles to another berth into the national quarterfinals.
James and Glanville have consistently been one of the top doubles teams in the country this season, boasting a record 22-7 with a 16-6 mark in dual matches. The tandem won 14 of their first 15 matches to open the spring and went 1-1 at the No. 1 spot this past weekend in NCAA tournament action. In singles, James was equally impressive, solidifying the lineup in the No. 4 hole as he has posted a 17-2 record and is 14-1 this spring. He won his first 12 decisions of the spring season and is 2-0 this postseason with wins over Chicago and NC Wesleyan.
Van Cotthem garners Honorable Mention honors after a strong campaign in the No. 5 position in the singles lineup. He is one of four Eagles with 11 or more wins this spring with a pair of his victories coming this weekend in the NCAA tournament. The Dean and Shah pairing have teamed up for a 6-1 record in seven matches since debuting as a tandem on March 9. They went 3-0 in the UAA tournament and saw their first loss coming in a tiebreak against NC Wesleyan on Sunday.
The Eagles continue the season this Saturday, May 13 in the Elite Eight, going up against Tufts University. The match is slated to get underway at 12:00 PM EST at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.