New Richmond’s Matt Rydzewski was named the Player of the Year in the American Division.

New Richmond’s Matt Rydzewski was named the Player of the Year in the American Division.
By Chris Chaney
Sun staff

The Southern Buckeye Conference announced its 2013 boys’ tennis awards late last month, honoring the area’s best players and coaches. In their respective divisions, league champions New Richmond and Batavia took home the lion’s share of awards.

In the American Division, New Richmond senior Matt Rydzewski was named the Player of the Year and Lions’ head coach Rylan Shebesta was named the Coach of the Year.

Shebesta coached the Lions to an SBC-best 15-3 overall record and a perfect 10-0 mark in the conference. Rydzewski and his doubles partner Zach Manning were the lone SBC players to advance to the district tournament and were honored as such with a nod to the First Team All-SBC.

The pair’s teammates, Newton McCullom and David Ohntrup also were named to the First Team, while Henry Heidlage, the Lions’ first singles player, was a Second Team selection.

Also garnering First Team honors in the American Division was Bethel-Tate’s Jared Iding. Zac Conrad and Adam Clements, two junior Tigers, were named to the Second Team.

Another pair of juniors on the Second Team, Cole Hadley and Chris Treadway, represented Goshen.

In the National Division, the league-best Batavia Bulldogs took home a pair of individual awards as senior Tanner Spears was named the Co-Player of the Year along with Blanchester’s Daniel Fugett and head coach Jon Nau was selected by his peers as the Coach of the Year.

The Bulldogs finished the season with a 9-3 overall record and 5-1 SBC record, tying them for first place with Blanchester.

Joining Spears on the First Team All-SBC were a pair of teammates, Austin Conner and Nick Herron, both juniors.

Felicity-Franklin, who finished the season 5-7 overall and 2-4 in the league had Steven McCann named to the First Team and Devon Denune named to the Second Team.

Finally, Even Tellep, a junior who was named to the Second Team, represented Clermont Northeastern on the National Division All-Star team.