WINTHROP, Mass. – Andrew Bienvenu (Baton Rouge, La.) has been voted the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Tennis Player of the Year, highlighting Regis College's representation in the GNAC postseason awards as voted on by the conference coaches and announced by the league office Thursday, May 12.
Bienvenu also received All-GNAC Singles First Team honors as well as All-GNAC Doubles Second Team recognition along with Lenny Tam (Waltham, Mass.). Sebastian Torres (San Juan, Puerto Rico) joined Bienvenu on the All-GNAC Singles First Team, and Tam was selected to represent the Pride on the GNAC Men's Tennis All-Sportsmanship Team.
Bienvenu finished the 2021-22 season with a perfect 15-0 singles record, the most victories without a loss in a single season in program history as well as tied for fourth on the Pride single season wins list. After playing in the number two position in the season opener at Clark, he moved up to the number one position for the rest of the year and won every completed match, including three contests in which he rallied from losing the first set to win the second set and the super-tiebreaker.
"Andrew had an outstanding year and not only had an amazing record with just one doubles loss, but he was a great leader for the team," head coach Alex Wong said.
Bienvenu and Tam first teamed together in doubles during the team's Spring Break trip to Florida and eventually won 11 straight doubles sets before falling in a tiebreaker in the GNAC Tournament semifinal at Eastern Nazarene April 30. Before the final contest of the season, the closest match for the twosome resulted in an 8-5 victory while playing number one doubles against Calvin March 5.
Playing in the number two singles position, Torres rattled off 10 straight victories to close out the regular season with a 12-3 singles mark, including a perfect 4-0 record in league play. The first nine wins of the streak occurred in straight sets, featuring seven 6-0 set victories, before he battled back from dropping the second set to defeat Jan Ullmann, the GNAC Rookie of the Year, in three sets during the Pride's match at Colby-Sawyer (6-1, 0-6, 6-4).
Competing mostly in the number four singles position, Tam finished with five singles victories along with 12 doubles wins during the 2021-22 campaign. His straight-set victory clinched the team's victory over Concordia-Moorhead College March 3, plus he moved up to the third singles position and picked up the clinching point against Salve Regina April 14 (6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 1-0 (10-8)).
"We value good sportsmanship, and Lenny has been a great ambassador of good sportsmanship," said Wong.
As a team, Regis College posted a 7-9 overall record in 2021-22, featuring two three-match winning streaks March 1-3 and April 5-14. The team qualified for the GNAC Tournament for the first time since 2018, losing to conference champion Eastern Nazarene in the semifinals.
"I am proud of the accomplishments of the team this year," continued Wong. "Making the conference tournament was a great accomplishment, and to be recognized with conference awards is an honor. Andrew, Sebastian, and Lenny all had good seasons, and it is great to see them recognized by the other coaches."
Men's tennis is one of 20 intercollegiate sports sponsored by Regis College as a NCAA Division III member institution.