2006 All-Big Ten Men's Tennis Team Announced

Illinois' DeHeart claims second-consecutive Athlete of the Year honor

Ryler DeHeart becomes the second player to garner consecutive Athlete of the Year honors.

Ryler DeHeart becomes the second player to garner consecutive Athlete of the Year honors.

April 27, 2006

PARK RIDGE, IL - The Big Ten Conference announced today the 2006 Men's Tennis All-Big Ten team and Freshman, Athlete and Coach of the Year award winners.

 

Illinois' Ryler DeHeart was selected as the Big Ten Athlete of the Year for the second straight year, joining Iowa's Tyler Cleveland (2000 and 2001) as just the second player in league annals to win the award in consecutive seasons. DeHeart is the third Illini to claim the Big Ten's top honor, joining Brian Wilson (2004) and Oliver Freelove (1999).  Ohio State's Bryan Konieko was honored as Freshman of the Year, becoming the second Buckeye in three years to garner the award since Joey Atas in 2004.  Ohio State head coach Ty Tucker was chosen as the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the second time in his career after being previously honored in 2001. Under Tucker's leadership, the Buckeyes compiled a perfect 10-0 Big Ten record to capture the program's first regular season title. He led seventh-ranked Ohio State to its sixth-straight 20-win season and the highest national ranking in program history.

 

This year's All-Big Ten team is comprised of four seniors, three juniors, four sophomores and one freshman - six of which were unanimous selections.  Half of the squad is also comprised of repeat winners.  Illinois' DeHeart earned his third All-Conference nod, while teammate Kevin Anderson claimed his second-straight honor. Michigan's Matko Maravic, Northwestern's Christian Tempke, Ohio State's Devin Mullings and Penn State's Mark Barry were all repeat selections.

 

The Conference office also announced honorees from each team for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. The 11 student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. These student-athletes are now candidates for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, as the Conference office will honor one male and one female student-athlete from each institution at the end of the school year.

 

A complete list of the 2006 All-Big Ten team and postseason honorees appears below.

 

Freshman of the Year                             Athlete of the Year                                       Coach of the Year

Bryan Koniecko, Ohio State*                   Ryler DeHeart, Illinois*                                 Ty Tucker, Ohio State*

 

 

2006 All-Big Ten Team                                                                      2006 Sportsmanship Award Honorees       

Kevin Anderson, Illinois                                                                     Pramod Dabir, Illinois

Ryler DeHeart, Illinois*                                                                       Neil Kenner, Indiana                                          

Dima Ishtuganov, Indiana                                                                 Bart van Monsjou, Iowa                                     

Matko Maravic, Michigan*                                                                 Brian Hung, Michigan

Nick Rinks, Michigan State                                                                Mike Flowers, Michigan State

D.J. Geatz, Minnesota*                                                                       Adrien Debreyne, Minnesota

Christian Tempke, Northwestern                                                     Adam Schaechterle, Northwestern                 

Chris Klingemann, Ohio State*                                                        Scott Green, Ohio State

Bryan Koniecko, Ohio State                                                              Mark Barry, Penn State

Devin Mullings, Ohio State                                                                Eric Hodgman, Purdue                     

Mark Barry, Penn State*                                                                     Lachezar Kasarov, Wisconsin                         

Jeremy Sonkin, Wisconsin*                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                               

*unanimous selection


 

 

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