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Somerset, NJ -- The backbone of a Saint Francis U team that has risen up through the NEC ranks over his four years, senior Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) capped his stellar career by being selected NEC Men’s Tennis Player of the Year in a vote of the league’s head coaches. Bryant freshman Michael Plutt (Weston, FL/Cypress Bay) was named NEC Rookie of the Year. Bryant’s Ron Gendron was voted NEC Coach of the Year for an unprecedented fourth straight time after leading the Bulldogs to a third consecutive NEC title.
 
Going up against a number of NEC greats over his four years, Gervais had yet to earn All-Conference recognition heading into his senior year. This despite a stellar career that saw him rack up 20 wins as a freshman when he was immediately inserted into the starting lineup at the #1 slot for the Red Flash. This past season saw Gervais take his game to the next level in posting the highest win percentage in the league among #1 flight players and third overall in the NEC with a 15-6 mark. He won all four of his league matches, and helped lead the Red Flash to their first-ever NEC Tournament final. Gervais was tabbed the NEC Player of the Month in February after he posted singles wins over All-Horizon and All-Patriot League players, and would go on to win a pair of NEC Player of the Week honors this spring. The Quebec native also claimed first team All-NEC doubles honors with teammate Dylan Foo-Kune. Saint Francis U’s first-ever NEC Player of the Year, Gervais wrapped his career with 104 total wins, including 57 in singles play.
 
The fourth Bryant player in the last seven years to be voted NEC Rookie of the Year, Plutt picked up steam over the last month of the season, winning five of his last six matches, including a pair of victories in the NEC Tournament. The two-time NEC Player of the Week finished a perfect 4-0 against NEC competition and 11-6 on the year. Plutt posted a 6-3 record in #4 flight play and provided the clinching point in the conference final as Bryant three-peated as NEC champion. The Weston, FL product was one of two freshman tabbed to the All-NEC first team, and he also earned a spot on the All-NEC second team at #1 doubles along with Nick Lamart. Plutt joined Dana Parziale (2011), Max Vogt (2013) and Matt Kuhar (2015) as Bryant players to win the NEC Rookie of the Year award.
 
Gendron has taken Bryant from NEC newbie to NEC powerhouse, best exemplified by the Bulldogs’ three consecutive conference championships. The first coach to the win Coach of the Year honors four consecutive years, Gendron now ranks second all-time behind former FDU coach Ira Miller, who was a six-time winner of the award. After posting a 3-0 NEC mark during the regular season, Bryant swept its way to the conference crown with 4-0 wins over Wagner and Saint Francis U in the semis and title tilt, respectively. Gendron had the Bulldogs tackle a typically challenging non-league schedule in anticipation of reaching the postseason, with regular season matches against ranked South Carolina, NC State and Harvard teams. In terms of individual honors, Bryant had five singles players and all three of its doubles team represented on All-NEC teams.

Bryant claimed four of the six spots on the All-NEC first team, a group that includes five underclassmen. Along with freshman Michael Plutt (Weston, FL/Cypress Bay) at #4 singles, the young Bulldogs were represented on the first team by sophomore Luke Lorenz (Colorado Springs, CO/Discovery Canyon Campus) (#3), freshman Artur Jakubowski (Dallas, TX) (#5) and sophomore Jorge Ortiz-Garcia (Trukillo Alto, Puerto Rico) (#6). NEC finalist Saint Francis U claimed the remaining two spots, as NEC Player of the Year and #1 singles all-star Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) was joined by Alec Dylan Foo-Kune (Phoenix, Mauritius/International Connections Academy) at the #2 position.
 
Foo-Kune made the leap from the All-NEC second team at #3 singles in his freshman season to SFU’s first-ever first team pick at #2 singles. His 12 wins at the #2 flight are the most in the conference and his 16 overall victories ties him for third in the NEC. Foo-Kune was a perfect 4-0 in league play and wrapped his sophomore campaign on a four-match win streak for the rising Red Flash squad. He was named the October NEC Player of the Month.
 
A back-to-back first team honoree at the #3 flight, Lorenz excelled down the stretch for the Bulldogs, winning his last four matches, including two in the NEC Tournament. He recorded a 4-1 mark against league rivals and won 10 matches on the year.
 
One of two freshman honorees for Bryant, Jakubowski will enter the NCAA Tournament with a team-leading 13 victories on the year. He swept all four of his NEC matches in straight sets and was named the NEC Rookie of the Week on April 19.
 
Ortiz-Garcia comes off a dominant month of play for the Bulldogs that saw him win all six of his matches in straight sets. He has compiled a 12-5 record and his .706 win percentage ranks him fourth on the circuit. An All-NEC first teamer at #6 singles for the second straight year, Ortiz-Garcia went 5-0 versus league competitors this past season.
 
The first team All-NEC doubles lineup includes a pair of Bryant combinations. Senior Max Vogt (Fair Oaks, CA/Granite Bay) and sophomore Luke Lorenz (Colorado Springs, CO/Discovery Canyon Campus) were the pick at #2 doubles, while sophomores Josh Kliger (Newport Beach, CA/Corona Del Mar) and Jorge Ortiz-Garcia (Trukillo Alto, Puerto Rico) took home #3 flight honors. Saint Francis U senior Washi Gervais (Longueuil, Quebec/College Stanislas) and sophomore Alec Dylan Foo-Kune (Phoenix, Mauritius/International Connections Academy) earned #1 flight all-star status.
 
Gervais and Foo-Kune were automatic during the Red Flash’s late season charge, winning all three of their NEC Tournament matches and six in a row to close out the year. The pairing accounted for 17 wins against just six defeats. The 17 victories were the most in the NEC at #1 flight play and the second highest total overall on the year. Gervais and Foo-Kune also posted a 5-1 mark within the conference.
 
One year after claiming All-NEC first team recognition at the #3 spot, Vogt and Lorenz achieved similar notoriety at the #2 flight. The duo won all four of their conference matches and went 9-7 on the year for the Bulldogs. Vogt and Lorenz head into the NCAA Tournament having won six of their final eight matches this spring.
 
Kliger and Ortiz-Garcia steamrolled through the competition this season en-route to All-NEC honors. The #3 flight tandem finished 5-0 in league matches, dropping just 10 games in the process. They have compiled a 9-2 mark on the year with their .818 win percentage the second-best in the NEC.
 
Four schools were represented on the All-NEC singles second team, including three players from Fairleigh Dickinson. FDU junior Jacob Whalley (Wirral, England/Calday Grange Grammar School) was tabbed at #1 singles, along with juniors Gonzalo Quintana (Guayaquil, Ecuador/Colegio Particular Pert) (#3) and Diogo Garnel (Lisbon, Portugal/Carcavelos Tenis) (#5). Bryant junior Oliver Welsh (San Diego, CA/Laurel Springs) earned second team accolades at the #2 spot, Wagner sophomore Charlton Boyd (Shreveport, LA/Loyola College Prep) walked away with #4 honors and Saint Francis U freshman Robin van der Heijden (Burgh Haamstede, Netherlands/Scheldmond College) was selected at the #6 position.
 
Taking over for four-time NEC Player of the Year Arvis Berzins at the #1 flight, Whalley added to the FDU tradition with a strong year for the Knights. The former NEC Rookie of the Year produced a 3-1 record in NEC play and went 13-12 overall. Whalley was an All-NEC first team selection at #2 singles a year ago and was chosen NEC Player of the Week on March 29. 
 
Welsh has now been named All-NEC in each of his three years at Bryant, including first team selections in his first two years in Smithfield. Welsh has won 10 matches heading into NCAA play, including a perfect 3-0 record versus NEC opponents.
 
Quintana’s selection made it three straight All-NEC second team appearances for the junior. He ranked second on FDU with 14 wins and was 6-3 in #3 flight play. Within the conference, Quintana posted a perfect 4-0 record and won a pair of NEC Tournament matches. The native of Ecuador was a two-time NEC Player of the Week this past spring.
 
Boyd was Wagner’s first-ever All-NEC selection. The Shreveport, LA native won a team-high 16 matches on the year and his .727 win percentage ranked second in the league. He posted an 11-3 mark at #4 singles and went 5-2 against NEC rivals.
 
Now a three-time All-NEC honoree, Garnel added a second team honor to his pair of first team accolades. He won five of his last six matches to finish 15-10 on the year, including 5-3 at the #5 flight. Garnel also posted a 4-1 record in conference play.
 
van der Heijden was one of three freshman players to earn All-NEC honors. He won two of his three NEC matches and was named NEC Rookie of the Week on March 17. van der Heijden finished his year with nine victories.
 
The second team All-NEC doubles combinations begin with the #1 flight team of Bryant freshman Michael Plutt (Weston, FL/Cypress Bay) and sophomore Nick Lamart (Raleigh, NC). Fairleigh Dickinson juniors Pedro Carvalho (Lisbon, Portugal/Secundaria do Restelo) and Diogo Garnel (Lisbon, Portugal/Carcavelos Tenis) were honored at the #2 spot. Saint Francis U junior Plamen Avuski (Plovdiv, Bulgaria/Math High School) and freshman Jan Vit Suntar (Cerkje na Gorenjskem, Slovenia/Gimnazija Kranj) claimed #3 flight plaudits.
 
Plutt and Lamart combined for a 7-4 record at the ultra-competitive #1 doubles flight and were 8-5 overall on the year. The tandem earned a marquee win against then #23 Harvard back in February. Plutt and Lamart went 3-2 within the conference.
 
Carvalho and Garnel posted the third-highest win percentage in the NEC with a 9-3 record, including a 4-1 ledger versus league opponents. The pairing also produced two NEC Tournament wins at #2 doubles. For Garnel, it marked his third selection with his third different partner to the All-NEC doubles second team.
 
Avuski and Suntar lead the NEC with 18 doubles victories on the year. The duo went 10-5 in #3 flight play and were 4-2 against NEC opposition.
 
The NEC All-Rookie team was headlined by Bryant freshman Michael Plutt (Weston, FL/Cypress Bay), the NEC Rookie of the Year. Plutt and classmate Artur Jakubowski (Dallas, TX) were both named to the All-NEC first team at #4 and #5 singles, respectively. They were joined by Wagner’s Dale Ray Sandy (Durban, South Africa/Kersney College Secondary School) (#1) and Ilya Kneppelhout (Woubrugge, Netherlands/Scala College Secondary School) (#2), along with Sacred Heart’s Derek Chapman (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) (#3) and Saint Francis U’s Jan Vit Suntar (Cerkje na Gorenjskem, Slovenia/Gimnazija Kranj) (#4).
 
About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 35th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30).  Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Google+, all @NECsports.