HADLEY, Mass. - The 2026 NESCAC Men's Tennis awards were announced per a vote by the conference coaches. Bowdoin's Mark Kneiss was the recipient of the NESCAC Player of the Year honor and the Clarence Chaffee Sportsmanship Award, while Lukas Frangenberg of Amherst was selected as the NESCAC Rookie of the Year. The Tufts staff was voted as the NESCAC Coaching Staff of the Year by their peers.
Kneiss is the fifth Polar Bear to be named the NESCAC Player of the Year, and it's the third time in four seasons a Bowdoin player has been selected for the honor. The senior, who also earned All-NESCAC First Team honors in singles and doubles, is 25-9 on the singles court playing at No. 1 for the Polar Bears. He has also registered 16 wins with playing partner Jackson Codd at No. 1 doubles this season. The Polar Bears advanced to the NESCAC Championship match and earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Kneiss is also the fifth player from the school to be voted the Clarence Chaffee Sportsmanship Award winner. The Clarence Chaffee Sportsmanship Award is given annually to the individual who has displayed a high standard of tennis, coupled with the highest levels of sportsmanship
Frangenberg is the sixth Mammoth and second Amherst player in three years to earn NESCAC Rookie of the Year honors. An All-NESCAC First Team Doubles selection, the first year posted 15 wins with partner Andreas Sillaste as the Mammoths' top doubles team. Frangenberg also owns a 16-6 singles record playing at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Amherst advanced to the semifinals of the NESCAC Tournament.
The Tufts staff was recognized for the second consecutive year and the third time overall after leading the Jumbos to their first NESCAC title in 36 years. Tufts went unbeaten in NESCAC play for the second straight season and stands at 22-2 heading into the NCAA Tournament.
2026 NESCAC Men's Tennis Awards
Player of the Year: Mark Kneiss, Bowdoin
Rookie of the Year: Lukas Frangenberg, Amherst
Clarence Chaffee Sportsmanship Award: Mark Kneiss, Bowdoin
Coaching Staff of the Year: Tufts (Karl Gregor, Adham Gaber, Jamie Cerretani, Jacob Meyerson, Rishabh Sharda, Nick White, Matt Scott)
| All-NESCAC First Team Singles |
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
Previous Honors |
| George Chaidemenos |
Amherst |
Sr. |
Athens, Greece |
|
| Alex Ganchev |
Tufts |
Sr. |
Plovdiv, Bulgaria |
|
| Javier Gonzalez |
Tufts |
Sr. |
Valencia, Spain |
2025 1st Team Singles, 2024 2nd Team Singles |
| Mark Kneiss |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
Athens, Greece |
2025 1st Team Singles |
| Andreas Sillaste |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Oulu, Finland |
2025 1st Team Singles, 2024 ROY, 2024 1st Team Singles, 2024 1st Team Doubles |
| Simon Volkema |
Williams |
Sr. |
Grand Rapids, Mich. |
2025 2nd Team Singles |
| Julian Wu |
Middlebury |
Sr. |
Tenafly, N.J. |
2025 2nd Team Singles, 2024 1st Team Singles |
|
|
|
|
|
| All-NESCAC Second Team Singles |
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
Previous Honors |
| Garv Bahl |
Tufts |
Jr. |
Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
|
| Nicholas Chen |
Williams |
Sr. |
Oakland, Calif. |
2025 1st Team Doubles, 2024 1st Team Doubles |
| Jackson Codd |
Bowdoin |
Jr. |
Carlsbad, Calif. |
|
| Jason Daly |
Colby |
So. |
Baltimore, Md. |
2025 ROY, 2025 2nd Team Singles, 2025 2nd Team Doubles |
| Kiran Garapati |
Bowdoin |
So. |
Chicago, Ill. |
|
| Tarun Korwar |
Hamilton |
Jr. |
Hyderabad, India |
2025 2nd Team Doubles, 2024 2nd Team Doubles |
| Ryuto Saito |
Wesleyan |
Fy. |
Japan |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| All-NESCAC First Team Doubles |
| Team |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
Previous Honors |
| Andreas Sillaste |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Oulu, Finland |
2025 1st Team Singles, 2024 ROY, 2024 1st Team Singles, 2024 1st Team Doubles |
| Lukas Frangenberg |
Amherst |
Fy. |
New York, N.Y. |
|
| Mark Kneiss |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
Athens, Greece |
2025 1st Team Singles |
| Jackson Codd |
Bowdoin |
Jr. |
Carlsbad, Calif. |
|
| Alex Ganchev |
Tufts |
Sr. |
Plodiv, Bulgaria |
|
| Sacha Maes |
Tufts |
Sr. |
New York, N.Y. |
|
| Nicholas Chen |
Williams |
Sr. |
Oakland, Calif. |
2025 1st Team Doubles, 2024 1st Team Doubles |
| Simon Volkema |
Williams |
Sr. |
Grand Rapids, Mich. |
2025 2nd Team Singles |
|
|
|
|
|
| All-NESCAC Second Team Doubles |
| Team |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
Previous Honors |
| Phillippe Kosyagin |
Bates |
Jr. |
Las Vegas, Nev. |
2025 2nd Team Doubles |
| Theo Sardain |
Bates |
Sr. |
Dedham, Mass. |
2025 2nd Team Doubles, 2024 2nd Team Doubles |
| Jason Daly |
Colby |
So. |
Baltimore, Md. |
2025 ROY, 2025 2nd Team Singles, 2025 2nd Team Doubles |
| Marco Zeits-Segura |
Colby |
So. |
New York, N.Y. |
|
| Reif Larsen |
Middlebury |
So. |
Portland, Ore. |
|
| Thehan Wijemanne |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Colombo, Sri Lanka |
2025 1st Team Doubles, 2024 2nd Team Doubles |
| Andrej Djokic |
Tufts |
Sr. |
Brcko, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
|
| Kaetan Mehta |
Tufts |
So. |
Edmonton, Alberta |
|
