TEMPE, Ariz. – Senior Willem van Biezen (Sassenheim, Netherlands) of the Southern New Hampshire University men's tennis team was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) East Region Senior Player of the Year, while classmate and brother Bas van Biezen (Sassenheim, Netherlands) was selected as the ITA East Region Most Improved Senior, as the ITA announced its Division II East Regional Awards on Tuesday.
Willem van Biezen, who was officially crowned an ITA Division II All-American last month - the first All-American in program history - went 8-5 during the abbreviated season, including a perfect 5-0 in the singles bracket of the ITA East Regional Championships on Sept. 13-16, knocking off the Nos. 7 and 10 seeds en route to capturing the title. van Biezen, who topped his brother, Bas, in the final, advanced to the ITA Cup, where he fell to the top seed in the opening round Oct. 17. Willem also was 8-3 in doubles action with his brother. van Biezen was ranked as high as No. 14 in the nation in singles, as well as the top-ranked player in the East Region, during the season.
Bas van Biezen, who was feted as SNHU's male Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year last week, was 10-5 in singles play at the time his season was halted, which included a run to the ITA East Regional Championship final and rankings as high as No. 49 in the country and No. 2 in the region. Teaming with his brother, van Biezen was 7-3 in doubles, with the duo ranking as high as sixth in the East.
It is the second straight year a Penmen earned East Region Senior Player of the Year honors (Tiago Fernandes), while it is the first ITA East Region Most Improved Senior accolade for the program.
The six winners in each of the eight regions will now have a shot at the national awards, with those winners being Tuesday, May 26 (11 a.m. EDT) during a special virtual awards ceremony. The awards ceremony can be viewed on the ITA's Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube.
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