BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced its men’s tennis postseason awards on Tuesday and three Gusties were honored to the All-Conference Team, highlighted by Nick Aney (Sr., Rochester) winning the 2022 MIAC Arthur Ashe Award. The award annually recognizes a senior men’s tennis student-athlete who exhibits outstanding sportsmanship and exemplary athletic, academic, and humanitarian accomplishments.
Aney has compiled a singles record of 40-28 and a doubles record of 57-27 during his time at Gustavus. He qualified for the 2021 NCAA singles and doubles championships, as well as the 2021 ITA Cup, and has gone on to become an NCAA doubles semifinalist as well as a two-time ITA All-American in doubles, with a career high doubles national ranking of No. 3.
“Nick is one of the fiercest competitors and best sportsmen that I have ever coached,” Gustavus head coach Tommy Valentini said. “He brings a beautiful blend of maturity, perspective, and intensity to bring out the best in himself and his entire team during competition.”
In addition to his prowess on the court, Aney has also assembled one of the most decorated lists of academic awards and accomplishments of any student-athlete in Gustavus’s history. His current GPA is 3.99 with a double major in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He is also the co-founder and co-president of the Gustavus Pre-Dental Club and has been a first-term seminar peer mentor and academic leader in guiding first-year students transitioning to college. He has volunteered at Good Samaritan Dental Clinic and at the Channel One Food Bank in his hometown of Rochester, Minn., and while at Gustavus, has been a leading participant in the Big Partner/Little Partner program where he meets weekly in fun and engaging activities with youth in the St. Peter community.
“I have thrived in a culture where living out the values of giving full effort, having a positive attitude, and displaying exemplary sportsmanship is what defines our success,” Aney said. “Our team has been fortunate to accomplish a lot on the court over the past four years, but what I am most proud of is becoming the leader of a team that I care so deeply for and that has had such a profound impact on who I am as a person.”
Aney is the Gusties’ sixth MIAC Arthur Ashe Award recipient since 1999.
Three Gusties were named All-Conference. Jack Bergmeyer (Jr., Lincoln, Neb.) was selected to the All-Conference Singles Team, while Aney and Alex Budde (Jr., Menomonee Falls, Wis.) were named to the All-MIAC Doubles Team.
Aney, Budde, Rafael Coata (Fy., Sao Paulo, Brazil), and Indraneel Raut (Sr., Oshkosh, Wis.) were named honorable mention singles, while Drew Elofson (Sr., Saint Peter), Daniel Fouchier (Jr., Nootdorp, Netherlands), Marco Siviero (Fy., Sao Miguel de Oeste, Brazil), and Sourabh Terakanambi (Jr., Apple Valley) were named honorable mention doubles. Joel Hug (Sr., Bangkok, Thailand) was named to the All-Sportsmanship Team.