Five Cavaliers Earn All-ACC Men's Tennis Honors
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May 4, 2017
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s tennis team (28-1, 11-1 ACC) had five players named to the 2017 All-ACC Team, in honors announced by the Atlantic Coast Conference on Thursday (May 4).
The Cavaliers, who won their 12th ACC title this year, had a conference-high five players selected to the teams by a vote of the league’s 13 head coaches. Senior Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.) was voted to the first team, his fourth time being named to an All-ACC team, but his first stint on the top squad. Senior Alexander Ritschard (Zurich, Switzerland), junior Collin Altamirano (Sacramento, Calif.) and freshman Carl Soderlund (Stockholm, Sweden) were all named to the second team while junior Henrik Wiersholm (Kirkland, Wash.) garnered third-team honors.
Kwiatkowski became the ninth Virginia player to earn All-ACC honors in all four years of his collegiate career. Kwiatkowski is currently ranked No. 15 in singles with a 24-6 record this season. In the fall, he won the American Collegiate Invitational at the US Open, guaranteeing himself a spot in the 2017 US Open Qualifying tournament. He was named to the ITA Indoors All-Tournament Team at No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles and was also named the ACC Player of the Week on April 18. Kwiatkowski won a pivotal singles match against Borna Gojo in the finals of the ACC tournament to help the Cavaliers secure the conference title.
Ritschard earned his first career All-ACC honor after partnering with Kwiatkowski in doubles to go 20-1 this season. In singles, Ritschard started the season playing at No. 5 but has elevated to the top court, with a 21-5 overall record. Ritschard was named to the ITA Indoors All-Tournament Team at No. 5 singles and No. 2 doubles.
Altamirano earned his third career All-ACC honor and his second-straight placement on the second team. Altamirano has moved up to a No. 46 singles ranking, going 9-1 in conference matches this season, and heads into the NCAA Tournament on an eight-match win streak. In doubles, Altamirano boasts a 20-4 record and has won his last seven matches.
Söderlund began his career by winning his first 13 matches, including going 7-0 in conference play. Söderlund also plays on UVA’s top doubles team, which is currently ranked No. 16 in the ITA doubles rankings.
Wiersholm is 21-1 in singles this season, including sporting a perfect 11-0 mark in ACC matches for the second-straight season. Wiersholm has been ranked as high as No. 79 this season in singles and has also played at No. 1 doubles, partnering with senior Luca Corinteli (Alexandria, Va.) for a 3-3 record at the top court and a No. 65 ranking.
Georgia Tech’s Christopher Eubanks repeated as ACC Men’s Tennis Player of the Year, North Carolina’s William Blumberg was named the Freshman of the Year and Georgia Tech’s Kenny Thorne earned Coach of the Year honor.
Individual Award Winners
Player of the Year: Christopher Eubanks @, Jr., Georgia Tech
Freshman of the Year: William Blumberg, North Carolina
Coach of the Year: Kenny Thorne, Georgia Tech
All-ACC First Team
Aziz Dougaz, So., Florida State
Christopher Eubanks #, Jr., Georgia Tech
Ronnie Schneider !, Sr., North Carolina
William Blumberg, Fr., North Carolina
Josh Hagar @, Sr., Notre Dame
Thai-Son Kwiatkowski !, Sr., Virginia
Petros Chrysochos @, So., Wake Forest
Skander Mansouri @, Jr., Wake Forest
Borna Gojo, Fr., Wake Forest
All-ACC Second Team
Spencer Furman, Fr., Duke
Guy Iradukunda, Jr., Florida State
Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff, Louisville
Piotr Lomacki #, Jr., Miami
Robert Kelly @, Jr., North Carolina
Alexis Galarneau, Fr., NC State
Collin Altamirano @, Jr., Virginia
Alexander Ritschard, Sr., Virginia
Carl Soderlund, Fr., Virginia
All-ACC Third Team
Alex Favrot @, So., Clemson
TJ Pura, Sr., Duke
Catalin Mateas, So., Duke
Lucas Poullain, R-Jr., Florida State
Andrew Li, So., Georgia Tech
Parker Wynn, Fr., Louisville
Nick Horton, Sr., NC State
Henrik Wiersholm @, Jr., Virginia
Christian Seraphim, R-Jr., Wake Forest
@ – Two-time honoree
# – Three-time honoree
! ââ’¬” Four-time honoree