Freshman Benedikt Henning of the Norfolk State men’s tennis team earned the MEAC Rookie of the Year Award on Tuesday morning when the conference office announced the postseason accolades for the 2016 spring season. Originally on NSUSpartans.com.
NORFOLK, Va. – Freshman Benedikt Henning of the Norfolk State men’s tennis team earned the MEAC Rookie of the Year Award on Tuesday morning when the conference office announced the postseason accolades for the 2016 spring season. In addition, he was also named first team All-MEAC.
He became the fourth different men’s player for NSU to win the rookie of the year award and the third in the last five years. The Spartan men have now had an all-conference player for at least each of the last 15 years, based on available records, as well as a first-team honoree in six of the last seven seasons.
Henning led NSU to a 4-1 MEAC record this year and a second place finish in the North. He posted a 10-9 overall singles mark and went undefeated in conference matches at 4-0. He went 9-8 while competing at the No. 1 spot in the lineup for NSU in his first collegiate season. Henning, a native of Bad Hersfeld, Germany, also played primarily at No. 1 doubles, going 2-2 in conference play and 7-10 overall. He was named MEAC Rookie of the Week three times and also won the player of the week award once.
Bethune-Cookman’s Alex Chepik earned the MEAC Player of the Year award. Carl Goodman of Florida A&M was named coach of the year.
The Spartans will begin play in the MEAC tournament on Thursday at ODU’s Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center. NSU will take on South No. 3 seed South Carolina State at 4 p.m.
2016 Men’s Tennis All-MEAC Teams
First Team
| Name | School | Class | Hometown |
| Alex Chepik | Bethune-Cookman | So. | Moscow, Russia |
| Jeremy Field | Morgan State | Fr. | Seyssinet-Pariset, France |
| Benedikt Henning | Norfolk State | Fr. | Bad Hersfeld, Germany |
| Walner Espinoza | Florida A&M | Jr. | Panama City, Fla. |
| Walid Gtari | Bethune-Cookman | Sr. | Arianna, Tunisia |
| Kert Kliments | North Carolina Central | So. | Kuressare, Estonia |
Second Team
| Name | School | Class | Hometown |
| Karlyn Small | Florida A&M | So. | Phoenixville, Pa. |
| Vladyslav Yanchenko | South Carolina State | So. | Ukraine |
| Ismael Kaouache | Howard | Jr. | Casablanca, Morocco |
| Alvaro Barrero | Bethune-Cookman | Jr. | Madrid, Spain |
| Jakub Vitek | South Carolina State | So. | Czech Republic |
| Courage Okungbowa | Florida A&M | Jr. | Wesley Chapel, Fla. |
Player of the Year: Alex Chepik, Bethune-Cookman
Rookie of the Year: Benedikt Henning, Norfolk State
Coach of the Year: Carl Goodman, Florida A&M
Originally posted on NSUSpartans.com.
Spartan Echo 