MIAMI, Fla. (April 28, 2021) – The 2021 All-Sun Conference Men’s Teams and Superlative Award Winners were announced on Wednesday as voted on by the league’s seven head coaches.
 
Keiser’s Luke Simkiss was named this year’s Sun Conference Player of the Year. Named Sun Conference Player of the Week (March 8) – the fourth of his career, Simkiss ended the regular season with a 16-3 overall record and an 8-0 mark in dual meets. All eight of his victories came at the No. 1 position as Simkiss led the Seahawks to a 13-1 overall record (7-0 TSC). Simkiss joins teammates Geronimo Barrios, Toru Horie, Fred Oervad, and Charly Zick on this year’s all-conference first team.
 
KU’s Zick was named the Sun Conference Freshman of the Year. The first-year Seahawk went 18-3 in singles action (12-1 duals) with a perfect 6-0 record in conference play. The native Karlsfeld, Germany, Zick competed in spots No. 2 through No. 4 in TSC action. He comes into the Sun Conference Championship riding a 12-match winning streak.  
 
Arthur Figuiere (Coastal Georgia) and Bruno Pessoa (Warner) were also named first-team all-conference.
 
The Seahawk pair of Barrios and Horie were named the Sun Conference Doubles Team of the Year. The duo posted an overall record of 8-2 record and was 4-1 in conference action at the No. 1 doubles position.
 
Keiser Head Coach Daniel Finn was named the league’s Coach of the Year, leading the Seahawks to 13-1 overall record and an undefeated 7-0 mark and the top seed in this year’s Sun Conference Men’s Tennis Championship. Ranked No. 2 in the latest NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the Seahawks went undefeated in league action for the sixth-straight season under Finn. This marks Finn’s third Men’s Coach of the Year honor.
 
Ave Maria’s Nicholas Hofmeister was named this year’s Sun Conference Champion of Character. As one of the resident assistants on the campus of Ave Maria, Hofmeister has encouraged students to be involved in the school and community, assisted students with their personal problems, and helped students to adjust to college both academically. Hofmeister also delivered meals to isolated students suffering from COVID infections. As a tutor, Hofmeister assisted students with homework, study guides, exam studying, mental tips, and planning. He also worked for Physical Plant where he helped to maintain the University's grounds, buildings, and halls. 

The semifinals of the 2021 Sun Conference Men’s Tennis Championship will take place On Thursday, April 29. The semifinals feature the top-seeded Keiser Seahawks versus the Ave Maria Gyrenes, and the second-seeded St. Thomas Bobcats versus the Southeastern Fire. Both matches are slated to begin a 2:30 p.m. from the Marta B. Torrey Tennis Complex in Brunswick, Georgia.
 
2021 Sun Conference Men’s Tennis All-Conference
(Listed Alphabetically)

First Team

Geronimo Barrios, JR	Keiser
Arthur Figuiere, SR	Coastal Georgia
Toru Horie, SO	Keiser
Fred Oervad, JR	Keiser
Bruno Pessoa, JR	Warner
Luke Simkiss, JR	Keiser
Charly Zick, FR	Keiser

Second Team

Mohamed Belcora, JR	Coastal Georgia
Robin Calais, GS	St. Thomas
Jesse Den Hartog, FR	Keiser
Nicholas Hofmeister, SR	Ave Maria
Bart Nouws, FR	Keiser
Alessandro Tabares, SO	St. Thomas

 

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2021 Sun Conference Men’s Tennis Award Winners
 
Player of the Year 
Luke Simkiss, JR, Keiser  
 
Freshman of the Year 
Charly Zick, Keiser  
 
Doubles Team of the Year
Geronimo Barrios, JR / Toru Horie, SO, Keiser
 
Coach of the Year 
Daniel Finn, Keiser
 
Champion of Character 
Nicholas Hofmeister, SR, Ave Maria


 
ABOUT THE SUN CONFERENCE
Now entering its 31st year, The Sun Conference, a 501c3 organization, continues to be one of the most successful intercollegiate athletic conferences in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Under the guidance of Commissioner Dustin Wilke, the league sponsors championships in 18 NAIA sports: Baseball, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Men’s and Women’s Cross Country, Men’s and Women’s Golf, Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field, Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Softball, Men’s and Women’s Tennis, Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field and Women’s Volleyball.  Corporate sponsorship of the Conference has increased ten-fold; but most importantly, every Sun Conference member institution earned the NAIA’s prestigious 5-Star Champions of Character Award in each of the last five years. Learn more @ thesunconference.com