EDISON, NJ (Apr. 21, 2023) – The Siena College Saints have swept all three Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) 2023 Men’s Tennis Major Awards, announced by the league office today. In addition to the major award winners, the conference also announced the two All-MAAC Teams, as voted on by the league’s seven head coaches.
The trio of Saints to garner major awards included Jeff Osborn being named as Coach of the Year, Dante Russo claiming Player of the Year and Edward Vo securing Rookie of the Year.
In his eighth season at the helm of Siena, Osborn led the Saints to their first MAAC Regular Season Championship in program history since joining the conference in 1989. The Saints posted a 4-2 mark in conference play and an overall record of 11-10 during the 2022-23 season, the second straight season with a 4-2 league record under his guidance. Siena collected a league-high eight VisitNJ MAAC Player of the Week awards this year with four different players claiming the honor at least once. Additionally, Osborn becomes the first Coach of the Year from Siena since Jim Serbalik won the honor in 2007.
Russo compiled an overall singles record of 23-6 at the #1 position and partnered for a 16-11 overall doubles record at the #1 position in 2022-23. In conference action, he went 5-1 in both singles and doubles play, leading the Saints to their first ever MAAC Regular Season Championship trophy. A native of Deerfield Beach, Florida, Russo was voted to the All-MAAC First Team at the #1 singles spot and earned All-MAAC Second Team accolades at the #1 doubles spot. During the regular season, he was tied for the MAAC lead with three VisitNJ Player of the Week awards, picking up the accolades on February 1, March 8, and April 19.
Vo burst onto the collegiate scene in 2022-23 by going 21-4 in singles matches and partnered for a 15-11 doubles record. He was equally as impressive in MAAC play, posting a conference singles record of 5-1 (4-1 at #5 spot and 1-0 at #4 spot) and 5-1 in doubles play. Hailing from Croydon Park, Australia, he was also a three-time VisitNJ MAAC Player of the Week on February 8, March 1 and March 15 to tie for the league-lead with Russo. Vo was named All-MAAC First Team at the #5 singles position and All-MAAC Second Team at the #1 doubles position.
The full list of major awards winners and All-MAAC Teams are below.
| 2023 Men’s Tennis Major Awards |
| Awards |
Player |
School |
| Player of the Year |
Dante Russo |
Siena |
| Rookie of the Year |
Edward Vo |
Siena |
| Coach of the Year |
Jeff Osborn |
Siena |
| All-MAAC First Team |
| Player |
Class |
Position |
School |
| Dante Russo |
Jr. |
#1 Singles |
Siena |
| Christian Mills |
Gr. |
#2 Singles |
Marist |
| Kaya Gore |
Gr. |
#2 Singles |
Fairfield |
| Trevor Masi |
Jr. |
#3 Singles |
Niagara |
| Stavros Hadjivarnava |
Fr. |
#4 Singles |
Rider |
| Alex Thompson |
Fr. |
#5 Singles |
Marist |
| Edward Vo |
Fr. |
#5 Singles |
Siena |
| Gurustat Makkar |
So. |
#6 Singles |
Niagara |
| Kemal Karagozoglu/Shaurya Sood* |
Sr./Jr. |
#1 Doubles |
Quinnipiac |
| Manuel Alonso/Gurustat Makkar |
Sr./So. |
#2 Doubles |
Niagara |
| Alex Aguiar/Kaya Gore |
Fr./Gr. |
#3 Doubles |
Fairfield |
| All-MAAC Second Team |
| Player |
Class |
Position |
School |
| Jonathan Olive-Blanco |
Sr. |
#1 Singles |
Fairfield |
| Dhruv Tangri |
So. |
#2 Singles |
Rider |
| Tolunay Sumer |
Gr. |
#3 Singles |
Fairfield |
| Jose Pablo Davila |
Jr. |
#4 Singles |
Siena |
| Kostas Kollias |
Fr. |
#5 Singles |
Fairfield |
| Griffin Schlesinger |
Sr. |
#6 Singles |
Fairfield |
| Edward Vo/Dante Russo |
Fr./Jr. |
#1 Doubles |
Siena |
| Kostas Kollias/Keean Shah |
Fr./Jr. |
#2 Doubles |
Fairfield |
| Jose Pablo Davila/Tomas del Olmo |
Jr./Gr. |
#3 Doubles |
Siena |
*Denote Unanimous Selection
The 2023 MAAC Men's & Women's Tennis Championships will take place on April 22 and 23 at Mercer County Park Tennis Center in West Windsor, NJ. This will be the 11
th consecutive championship held at Mercer County Park Tennis Center dating back to the 2012 MAAC Men's & Women's Tennis Championships. For all information regarding the 2023 MAAC Men's & Women’s Tennis Championships, please visit
maacsports.com/tennis.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 42nd year of competition during the 2022-23 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
Stay up to date with the MAAC on social media by following @MAACSports on
Twitter,
Facebook and
Instagram or visit
MAACSports.com for all the latest MAAC news.