Courtesy UVA Sports Media Relations
Virginia men’s tennis junior Carl Söderlund has been named the 2019 ACC Men’s Tennis Player of the Year, while Brandon Nakashima was named Freshman of the Year and Andres Pedroso was voted Coach of the Year in honors released on Thursday by the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Söderlund and Nakashima were also voted onto the All-ACC first team with senior Henrik Wiersholm earning second-team honors.
Söderlund (Stockholm, Sweden) is the top-ranked ACC player in the latest Oracle ITA national singles rankings, moving up to No. 3 this week. The three-time ACC Player of the Week has a 19-4 record this spring, including the clinching victory in the ACC semifinal match against North Carolina, going 9-1 in regular-season conference matches.
This is Söderlund’s third time being named to the All-ACC teams, and his second-straight first-team honor. This is the sixth time in program history that a Cavalier has been named the ACC Player of the Year and the first since Alex Domijan in 2014.
Nakashima (San Diego, Calif.) joined the team in January and made an immediate impact, posting a 14-5 record and a 7-2 mark in conference play. Nakashima has played mainly on the No. 2 court this spring, posting a 9-2 record. Nakashima partnered with Wiersholm in doubles to post an untarnished 7-0 record in conference matches this season.
He is the only Cavalier player to be ranked in both doubles and singles and has tallied two ACC Player of the Week honors as well as sharing the ACC Doubles Team of the Week accolade with Wiersholm to wrap up the regular-season. Nakashima is the sixth player in program history to be named the conference’s freshman or rookie of the year, and the first to do so since Mitchell Frank in 2012.
Wiersholm (Kirkland, Wash.) rebounded from missing the entire 2018 season with an injury to post a 15-4 singles record this spring. Wiersholm won 28-consecutive ACC singles matches during a streak that spanned from late in his freshman season until midway through this year.
Wiersholm went 7-0 in doubles in conference matches this season, earning an ACC Doubles Team of the Week honor with Nakashima. This is Wiersholm’s third All-ACC honor after being named to the third team in his sophomore (2016) and junior (2017) seasons.
Pedroso is in his second season as the head coach and director of tennis, helping to lead the Cavaliers to a No. 3 national ranking this season and a 21-4 record. This is the eighth time in program history that a Cavalier head coach has earned this honor.
This is the second time in program history that the Cavaliers have swept the annual honors, duplicating 2012’s result when Jarmere Jenkins was named the top player, Frank the top rookie and Brian Boland garnered the coaching accolade.
No. 5 Virginia will learn its postseason draw during the 2019 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship Selection Show, which will stream online at NCAA.com on Monday, April 29 at 6p.m. First and second round matches will take place at host sites from Friday, May 3 through Sunday, May 5.
The top-eight seeds remaining in the tournament after the second round will host a one-match super regional on either Friday, May 10 or Saturday, May 11. The winners of the super regionals will advance to the NCAA Championship Finals, being held from May 16-19 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. NCAA Singles and Doubles will take place May 20-25 in that same location.
2019 ALL-ACC MEN’S TENNIS
Player of the Year: Carl Söderlund, Virginia
Freshman of the Year: Brandon Nakashima, Virginia
Coach of the Year: Andres Pedroso, Virginia
FIRST TEAM ALL-ACC
Lucas Poullain, Florida State
Carlos Divar, Georgia Tech
Alexis Galarneau, NC State
William Blumberg, North Carolina
Benjamin Sigouin, North Carolina
Carl Soderlund, Virginia
Brandon Nakashima, Virginia
Petros Chrysochos, Wake Forest
Borna Gojo, Wake Forest
SECOND TEAM ALL-ACC
Nick Stachowiak, Duke
Adria Soriano Barrera, Miami
Alex Knaff, Florida State
Igor Saveljic, NC State
Brian Cernoch, North Carolina
Axel Nefve, Notre Dame
Henrik Wiersholm, Virginia
Jason Kros, Virginia Tech
Bar Botzer, Wake Forest
THIRD TEAM ALL-ACC
Derek Austin, Boston College
Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff, Louisville
Simon Baudry, Clemson
Francisco Bastias, Miami
Josh Peck, North Carolina
Blaine Boyden, North Carolina
Richard Ciamarra, Notre Dame
Alex Lebedev, Notre Dame
Henrik Korsgaard, Virginia Tech
