Northwestern University Athletics
Three Wildcats Earn First-Team All-Big Ten Honors
4/28/2016 10:57:00 AM | Men's Tennis
EVANSTON, Ill. – Three Northwestern student-athletes were honored with First-Team All-Big Ten accolades, the conference announced Thursday.
Konrad Zieba, Sam Shropshire and Strong Kirchheimer were all recognized for their efforts in leading Northwestern to the best season in program history. Zieba was a unanimous First-Team selection.
2016 marks the first year the Wildcats have had three all-conference selections since 1989. Northwestern and Ohio State were the only Big Ten schools to have three student-athletes make the first team.
"Konrad, Sam and Strong deserve to be recognized as First-Team All-Big Ten," head coach Arvid Swan said. "They are three of the best players in the Big Ten and all of college tennis. Each has significantly improved through their college careers with hard work on and off the court."
Zieba was selected First-Team All-Conference after a breakout season that produced 21 wins, 14 of which came against ranked opponents. He won six of seven consecutive matches versus nationally ranked competition to begin the year. Zieba was 12-5 at the No. 1 spot for the Wildcats in dual match play.
Shropshire was named First-Team All-Big Ten for the third straight year after posting a perfect 7-0 mark in conference matches. The junior finished with 17 wins overall with nine of those coming against ranked foes. Shropshire ended the regular season by winning nine of ten matches.
Zieba and Shropshire teamed up all season long at No. 2 doubles and played to a 15-4 record. The duo was 7-2 in Big Ten action, and their .789 winning percentage ranks fourth all-time for a single season at Northwestern. Their 15 wins rank just outside the top-10 for wins in a season, and they will have a chance to move up the ranks during postseason play.
Kirchheimer firmly planted himself in the Northwestern record book during an historic season. He posted a remarkable 26-3 record, including going 20-1 during dual play. He is currently on a 10-match winning streak and ranks second all-time in Northwestern history with a single season winning percentage of .897.
This is the second all-conference selection for the Northwestern junior. He earned a second-team nod last season.
Kirchheimer and Shropshire already rank as two of the three best players in school history in terms of winning percentage. Kirchheimer's .765 (75-23) ranks second for a career, while Shropshire's .727 (64-24) is third.
Mihir Kumar earned the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for Northwestern.
2016 All-Big Ten
First Team
Jared Hiltzik, ILL
ALEKS VUKIC, ILL
Sam Monette, IND
Matic Spec, MINN
Dusty Boyer, NEB
Strong Kirchheimer, NU
Sam Shropshire, NU
KONRAD ZIEBA, NU
Chris Diaz, OSU
HUGO DI FEO, OSU
MIKAEL TORPEGAARD, OSU
GERGELY MADARASZ, PUR
Second Team
Aron Hiltzik, ILL
Alex Knight, MICH
Ralf Steinbach, OSU
Constant De La Bassetiere, PSU
Leonard Stakhovsky, PSU
Benjamin Ugarte, PUR
Unanimous selections in CAPS
Konrad Zieba, Sam Shropshire and Strong Kirchheimer were all recognized for their efforts in leading Northwestern to the best season in program history. Zieba was a unanimous First-Team selection.
2016 marks the first year the Wildcats have had three all-conference selections since 1989. Northwestern and Ohio State were the only Big Ten schools to have three student-athletes make the first team.
"Konrad, Sam and Strong deserve to be recognized as First-Team All-Big Ten," head coach Arvid Swan said. "They are three of the best players in the Big Ten and all of college tennis. Each has significantly improved through their college careers with hard work on and off the court."
Zieba was selected First-Team All-Conference after a breakout season that produced 21 wins, 14 of which came against ranked opponents. He won six of seven consecutive matches versus nationally ranked competition to begin the year. Zieba was 12-5 at the No. 1 spot for the Wildcats in dual match play.
Shropshire was named First-Team All-Big Ten for the third straight year after posting a perfect 7-0 mark in conference matches. The junior finished with 17 wins overall with nine of those coming against ranked foes. Shropshire ended the regular season by winning nine of ten matches.
Zieba and Shropshire teamed up all season long at No. 2 doubles and played to a 15-4 record. The duo was 7-2 in Big Ten action, and their .789 winning percentage ranks fourth all-time for a single season at Northwestern. Their 15 wins rank just outside the top-10 for wins in a season, and they will have a chance to move up the ranks during postseason play.
Kirchheimer firmly planted himself in the Northwestern record book during an historic season. He posted a remarkable 26-3 record, including going 20-1 during dual play. He is currently on a 10-match winning streak and ranks second all-time in Northwestern history with a single season winning percentage of .897.
This is the second all-conference selection for the Northwestern junior. He earned a second-team nod last season.
Kirchheimer and Shropshire already rank as two of the three best players in school history in terms of winning percentage. Kirchheimer's .765 (75-23) ranks second for a career, while Shropshire's .727 (64-24) is third.
Mihir Kumar earned the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for Northwestern.
2016 All-Big Ten
First Team
Jared Hiltzik, ILL
ALEKS VUKIC, ILL
Sam Monette, IND
Matic Spec, MINN
Dusty Boyer, NEB
Strong Kirchheimer, NU
Sam Shropshire, NU
KONRAD ZIEBA, NU
Chris Diaz, OSU
HUGO DI FEO, OSU
MIKAEL TORPEGAARD, OSU
GERGELY MADARASZ, PUR
Second Team
Aron Hiltzik, ILL
Alex Knight, MICH
Ralf Steinbach, OSU
Constant De La Bassetiere, PSU
Leonard Stakhovsky, PSU
Benjamin Ugarte, PUR
Unanimous selections in CAPS
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