May 13, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Tommy Hanus of Northwestern's men's tennis team continues to impress collegiate coaches. Hanus received his latest honor Monday, being named the Region Four Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Rookie Player of the Year.
Hanus, the only freshman in the Big Ten Conference to play at the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles, was named the 2002 Big Ten Freshman of the Year two weeks ago. The latest honor makes him part of a select group of seven other regional winners in consideration for the National ITA Rookie Player of the Year award.
"This is the first time we have had a freshman win both awards," NU head coach Paul Torricelli said. "This says a lot about how coaches in the region felt about Tommy's first year. I hope this is the start of a great thing for him and for our team."
The Palatine, Ill., native ended his first collegiate season with a 20-13 overall singles record and a 17-12 mark in doubles play. Hanus started the dual-match season with an eight-match win streak and garnered a No. 118 ranking in the April 3 edition of the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings.
Two key wins for the freshman this season were against Aaron Talarico of then-No. 7 Notre Dame (7-6, 6-2) and 56th-ranked Vedran Vidovic of No. 24 Indiana State (2-6, 6-2, 6-4).
With the May 11 loss to Indiana State in the NCAA Regionals, the Northwestern men's tennis team ended the 2001-02 season with a 13-10 record (6-4 Big Ten).