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Virginia Sweeps Major VaSID State Awards

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The Atlantic Coast Conference Champion Virginia Cavaliers swept the major awards on the 2021 Virginia Sports Information Directors’ University Division Men’s Tennis All-State Team.

Carl Söderlund headlined the group, earning State Player of the Year honors, while teammate Jeffrey von der Schulenburg garnered State Rookie of the Year accolades. Virginia head coach Andres Pedroso was named State Coach of the Year.

Söderlund took home the state’s top award after being named an All-American along with earning ACC Player of the Year, ACC Championship MVP and Virginia’s Male Athlete of the Year across all sports. He was the top-ranked singles and doubles player in the Atlantic region and was ranked No. 6 nationally in singles most of the season.

von der Schulenburg earned rookie of the year honors after participating in the NCAA Singles Championship and garnering All-ACC First Team accolades. He was ranked as high as No. 14 in the national ITA singles rankings and finished the year ranked No. 2 in the Atlantic Region.

Pedroso led UVA to the ACC regular-season championship with a perfect 12-0 record and added the tournament title as well. For his efforts, he was named the league’s coach of the year. The Cavaliers finished the year ranked No. 7 nationally and advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Twice, Virginia topped North Carolina in 2021 when the Tar Heels were ranked No. 1 in the country. UVa also earned a spot in ITA National Team Indoors by knocking off then-ranked No. 3 Ohio State, handing the Buckeyes just their second home loss since 2003.

Along with Söderlund and von der Schulenburg, the all-state first team included two players from VCU and a pair of Liberty. The Rams’ Lleyton Cronje and Rayane Stable and the Flames’ Nicaise Muamba and Rafael Marques Da Silva earned places on the first team. Both Cronje, who finished the year ranked No. 101 nationally, and Stable were All-Atlantic 10 First Team selections. Muamba was named the ASUN Player of the Year for the second time, while Da Silva was the ASUN Championship MVP.

The all-state first team for doubles was comprised of a trio of ACC teams, one from Virginia Tech and two from Virginia. The Hokies’ Jordan Chrysostom and Ryan Fishback earned a spot after qualifying for the NCAA Doubles Championship and being ranked as high as No. 25 nationally. UVa’s Söderlund and William Woodall as well as the team of Chris Rodesch and Ryan Goetz garnered first-team honors. Söderlund and Woodall were ranked as high as No. 4 nationally and qualified for the NCAA Doubles Championship, while Rodesch and Goetz finished the year ranked No. 5 in the final ITA Atlantic Region doubles rankings.

With ties, the singles second team included nine players from eight schools across the state. Virginia’s Goetz and Iñaki Montes earned second-team honors along with Andres Alcaraz of Norfolk State, Radford’s Aditya Balsekar, Charles Bertimon of VCU, Mitch Harper of Virginia Tech, James Madison’s Holden Koons, Deji Thomas-Smith of Liberty and William & Mary’s Brenden Volk. The doubles second team included Old Dominion’s Luca Maldoner and Nicola Vidal, Thomas-Smith and Christiaan Worst of Liberty and the UVa team of von der Schulenburg and Montes.

VaSID names 44 all-state teams in 23 sports each year, as well as an Academic All-State squad and an all-sports champion in both the University and College Divisions. Membership in VaSID is open to all media relations professionals working at a university or conference in the state of Virginia.

 

VaSID University Division Men’s Tennis All-State

State Player of the Year – Carl Söderlund (Virginia)

State Rookie of the Year – Jeffrey von der Schulenburg (Virginia)

State Coach of the Year – Andres Pedroso (Virginia)

 

All-State First Team

Singles

  • Lleyton Cronje (VCU)
  • Rafael Marques Da Silva (Liberty)
  • Nicaise Muamba (Liberty)
  • Carl Söderlund (Virginia)
  • Rayane Stable (VCU)
  • Jeffrey von der Schulenburg (Virginia)

Doubles

  • Jordan Chrysostom/Ryan Fishback (Virginia Tech)
  • Chris Rodesch/Ryan Goetz (Virginia)
  • Carl Söderlund/William Woodall (Virginia)

 

All-State Second Team

Singles

  • Andres Alcaraz (Norfolk State)
  • Aditya Balsekar (Radford)
  • Charles Bertimon (VCU)
  • Ryan Goetz (Virginia)
  • Mitch Harper (Virginia Tech)
  • Holden Koons (James Madison)
  • Iñaki Montes (Virginia)
  • Deji Thomas-Smith (Liberty)
  • Brenden Volk (William & Mary)

Doubles

  • Luca Maldoner/Nicola Vidal (Old Dominion)
  • Deji Thomas-Smith/Christiaan Worst (Liberty)
  • Jeffrey von der Schulenburg/Iñaki Montes (Virginia)

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