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Bridgewater, NJ -- Wagner made history by winning its first NEC Men’s Tennis Championship in April, but the Green and White weren’t finished making their mark once the tournament wrapped.
In a breakout sophomore season, Wagner’s Eddie Schmidt (Ludwigsburg, Germany/Otto Hahn Gymnasium) added to the program’s list of firsts, earning the first NEC Player of the Year award in program history.
The Seahawks weren’t done there. Redshirt freshman Lukas Escher (Essen, Germany/Helmholtz-Gymnasium Essen) added to Wagner’s landmark season, earning the program’s first-ever NEC Rookie of the Year honor.
Binghamton’s 12th-year head coach Nick Zieziula makes it back-to-back NEC Coach of the Year awards after a strong 2026 campaign that saw Binghamton earn the top seed in the NEC Tournament and progress to its third consecutive final.
Schmidt went 16-6 in singles play and 14-6 in dual singles matches. He played exclusively from the top flight and went 5-2 against NEC foes across the regular season and postseason. Schmidt’s signature win came when the Green and White needed him most, besting Binghamton’s Ronin Lotlikar in the NEC final (6-3, 6-4) in a clash of two of the NEC’s premier singles players. He was named to the All-Tournament Team and Tournament MVP after posting a combined 5-1 record across singles and doubles.
Additionally, Schmidt was tabbed an All-NEC first team selection for his efforts, becoming Wagner’s first since 2021, when Anatoliy Lashkul claimed the honor.
Escher’s outstanding rookie season saw him take home NEC first team, All-Rookie and All-Tournament honors as well, marking the first time the Seahawks have ever had two first team all-stars. He went 15-6 in singles and won each of his final six singles matches of the season. Escher also picked up a crucial point for Wagner in the NEC title match, defeating Binghamton’s Filipe Costa in the second flight (6-4, 6-4).
Escher and Schmidt achieved additional honors as a duo, netting All-NEC first team doubles accolades, compiling a 17-5 record as a tandem.
In his three years coaching in the NEC, Zieziula has established Binghamton as an imposing powerhouse. Prior to their defeat in the NEC final this year, the Bearcats had gone 8-0 in postseason matches as a member of the conference and won back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025. Binghamton finished its 2026 campaign at 12-11 overall and 6-1 against NEC opponents. They picked up notable wins over Duquesne (6-1) and Colgate (6-1), in the regular season. The top-seeded Bearcats bested No. 8 Saint Francis (4-1) and No. 5 seed FDU (4-2) on their path to the championship match.
AWARD WINNER HIGHLIGHTS
This year’s NEC award winners represented a mix of experience and youth. Four seniors, three sophomores and three freshmen, a graduate student and a junior made the All-Conference singles teams. The All-NEC doubles teams mirrored that, sporting five seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen.
International student-athletes dominated the All-NEC singles teams in 2026, with 11 of the 12 selections representing eight different countries.
NEC champion Wagner led the way with three singles selections. Binghamton and LIU followed with two each, while Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, Mercyhurst and Saint Francis each had one all star.
The league’s head coaches took notice of Wagner’s historic campaign, deeming Escher and Schmidt as All-NEC first team singles honorees and Tom Lamers (Sittand, Netherlands/Trevianum) as a member of the second team. Lamers won 11 singles matches, with his most recent triumph being a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 win in the third flight that clinched Wagner’s first NEC crown.
Senior Ronin Lotlikar (Bengaluru, India/Gear Innovative) and junior Filipe Costa (Goiania, Brazil/Colegio Saber) each earned All-NEC singles honors. A three-time All-NEC selection, Lotlikar was a second teamer in 2024 before earning first team recognition in each of the last two seasons. Lotlikar had a tremendous campaign in 2026, winning a league-best 20 singles matches, including a 7-0 mark against league rivals while anchoring the Bearcats at the top flight. A first team All-NEC pick in 2025, Costa recorded 15 wins of his own playing exclusively at the second flight. Both Lotlikar and Costa were chosen to the NEC All-Tournament team.
The Binghamton tandem of Lotlikar and Harry Liao (Chengdu, China/Chengdu Foreign Language School) were named All-NEC first team in doubles selections after a 16-5 season playing as the top duo for the Bearcats.
Chicago State’s Yurii Hoida (Rivne, Ukraine) was voted to the All-NEC second team in singles, marking the first All-NEC selection in program history. Hoida won seven contests and went 3-1 in conference play, playing primarily in the No. 1 flight for the Cougars.
Gryffin Minor (Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada/Charles P. Allen) earned his first All-NEC First Team singles nod and second All-NEC award of his career after a terrific season for FDU. Minor racked up 15 singles wins, including eight victories at the #1 spot.
Tyler Crook (East Orange, NJ/FDU-Florham) and Joshua Oboniye (Chicago, IL/Edmonton Christian) emerged as a first team doubles tandem after compiling six wins as FDU’s No. 1 duo.
Le Moyne’s Carlo Zucchini (Varese, Italy/European School of Varese) comes off a stellar rookie campaign for the Dolphins. The native of Italy was one of two NEC freshman to earn All-NEC first team honors. Zucchini went 15-9 as Le Moyne’s top-flight singles player.
LIU notched a pair of All-NEC second team singles selections with Bassil Touban (Queens, NY/Maspeth) and James Vincent (Bristol, UK/Ashton Park School) taking home the awards. Touban, a freshman, won nine singles bouts as LIU’s No. 1. Vincent also won nine singles matches, going 5-1 in conference matches in the second flight.
Danylo Rekun (Kyiv, Ukraine) became the first Mercyhurst player to claim All-NEC First Team Singles recognition after a solid season that helped the Lakers go 4-1 against NEC opponents and secure the No. 2 seed in their first postseason appearance. Rekun, an All-NEC second team selection in 2025, won six of his nine singles matches at the No. 1 flight.
Rekun and Lukas Cabue Valverde (Irun, Spain/Larramendi Ikastetxea, San Sebastian) represented Mercyhurst as All-NEC second team doubles honorees, the first Laker duo to achieve All-Conference honors. The pair went 9-5 as Mercyhurst’s top team and a perfect 5-0 against NEC foes.
SFU’s Kevin Titus Suresh (Bengaluru, India/Clarence) followed up his NEC Rookie of the Year campaign in 2025 with another excellent showing in 2026, earning him an All-NEC first team singles accolade for the first time. Suresh, a second team all-star a season ago, registered 16 singles wins and went 4-2 against NEC opponents competed at the No. 1 flight for the Red Flash.
The Stonehill pairing of Guillermo Bennaton (San Pedro Sula, Honduras/Escuela Internacional Sampedrana) and Javier Gutierrez (Guatemala City, Guatemala/Colegio Interamericano) earned All-NEC second team plaudits after a campaign in which they went 7-4 as a duo, primarily from the second flight.
Liao, Hoida, Zucchini, Touban, Escher and Nikola Radišic (Zrenjanin, Serbia/Zrenjaninska gimnazija) were the six members of the All-NEC Rookie Team.
About The NEC
Now in its 45th season, the NEC is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of ten institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to a number of the largest markets in the United States including New York (#1), Chicago (#3), Boston (#9). Hartford/New Haven (#32) and Syracuse (#88). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 25 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 16 different NCAA Championships. NEC full member institutions include Central Connecticut, Chicago State, FDU, Le Moyne, LIU, Mercyhurst, New Haven, Saint Francis U, Stonehill and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.necsports.com) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, all @NECSports.
2026 NEC Men's Tennis Award Winners
NEC Player of the Year
Eddie Schmidt Wagner So. Ludwigsburg, Germany / Otto-Hahn Gymnasium
NEC Rookie of the Year
Lukas Escher Wagner R-Fr. Essen, Germany/Helmholtz-Gymnasium Essen
NEC Coach of the Year
Nick Zieziula Binghamton 12th season
2026 NEC Men's Tennis First Team All-Conference
Singles
Name School Yr Hometown/High School
Lukas Escher Wagner R-Fr. Essen, Germany/Helmholtz-Gymnasium Essen
Ronin Lotlikar Binghamton Sr. Bengaluru, India/Gear Innovative
Gryffin Minor FDU Sr. Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada/Charles P. Allen
Eddie Schmidt Wagner So. Ludwigsburg, Germany / Otto-Hahn Gymnasium
Kevin Titus Suresh Saint Francis So. Bengaluru, India/Clarence
Carlo Zucchini Le Moyne Fr. Varese, Italy/European School of Varese
Doubles
Name School Yr Hometown/High School
Harry Liao Binghamton Fr. Chengdu, China/Chengdu Foreign Language School
Ronin Lotlikar Binghamton Sr. Bengaluru, India/Gear Innovative
Tyler Crook FDU Sr. East Orange, NJ/FDU-Florham
Joshua Oboniye FDU Sr. Chicago, IL/Edmonton Christian
Lukas Escher Wagner R-Fr. Essen, Germany/Helmholtz-Gymnasium Essen
Eddie Schmidt Wagner So. Ludwigsburg, Germany / Otto-Hahn Gymnasium
2026 NEC Men’s Tennis Second Team All-Conference
Singles
Name School Yr Hometown/High School
Filipe Costa Binghamton Jr Goiania, Brazil/Colegio Saber
Yurii Hoida Chicago State Fr. Rivne, Ukraine
Tom Lamers Wagner Gr. Sittand, Netherlands/Trevianum
Danylo Rekun Mercyhurst Sr. Kyiv, Ukraine
Bassil Touban LIU So. Queens, NY/Maspeth
James Vincent LIU Sr. Bristol, UK/Ashton Park School
Doubles
Name School Yr Hometown/High School
Dylan Breen Binghamton Jr. Waterford, Ireland/Montverde Academy (Siena)
Filipe Costa Binghamton Jr. Goiania, Brazil/Colegio Saber
Lukas Cabue Valverde Mercyhurst Sr. Irun, Spain Larramendi Ikastetxea, San Sebastián
Danylo Rekun Mercyhurst Sr. Kyiv, Ukraine
Guillermo Bennaton Stonehill So. San Pedro Sula, Honduras/Escuela Internacional Sampedrana
Javier Gutierrez Stonehill So. Guatemala City, Guatemala/Colegio Interamericano
2026 NEC Men’s Tennis All-Rookie Team
Name School Yr Hometown/High School
Lukas Escher Wagner R-Fr. Essen, Germany/Helmholtz-Gymnasium Essen
Yurii Hoida Chicago State Fr. Rivne, Ukraine
Harry Liao Binghamton Fr. Chengdu, China/Chengdu Foreign Language School
Nikola Radišic Mercyhurst Fr. Zrenjanin, Serbia/Zrenjaninska gimnazija
Bassil Touban LIU So. Queens, NY/Maspeth
Carlo Zucchini Le Moyne Fr. Varese, Italy/European School of Varese