MANSFIELD, Mass. – Graduate student Willem van Biezen (Sassenheim, Netherlands) of the Southern New Hampshire University men's tennis team was named the Northeast-10 Player of the Week, while freshman Sam Goddard (Amherst, N.H.) earned NE10 Rookie of the Week honors, both for the period ending April 11, the league office announced Tuesday afternoon.
van Biezen was a perfect 6-0 during a 3-0 week for the Penmen. van Biezen opened the week with a 6-3, 6-3 win against Josh Weiss at No. 1 singles in a 6-1 victory against Saint Michael's College on Tuesday. van Biezen then took down Kevin Denecheau, 6-2, 7-5, at No. 2 singles in a 4-3 triumph over Franklin Pierce University on Thursday, before again winning at No. 2, 6-2, 6-2, versus Russell White in Saturday's 7-0 victory at Stonehill College. van Biezen also teamed with his brother, Bas van Biezen (Sassenheim, Netherlands), for a trio of No. 1 doubles wins, including against Weiss and Jason Boucher (7-5), FPU's Felipe Carvalho and Alejandro Ortiz (7-6 (7-1)), and SMC's Christian Duffy and Aleksander Lazowski (6-0).
Goddard, who went 4-2, beat Luke Ramsay, 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 singles against Saint Michael's. Goddard then slid to No. 4 singles, where he suffered a 6-7 (3-7), 4-6 defeat against Joel Cladera in the win over Franklin Pierce, before bouncing back at No. 4, for a 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 win against Luke Nickersoy at Stonehill. Goddard also teamed with sophomore Noah Dubitzky (Marlborough, Conn.) for a 6-0 win at No. 3 doubles against Ramsay and Jack Gunning, as well as with sophomore Zachary Duboulay (St. Lucia) at No. 3, where he lost to Cladera and Yuval Barak, 6-4, but took down Stonehill's Trent Newman and Joey Conrod, 6-0.
van Biezen, Goddard and the Penmen are back in action Thursday, April 15 (3 p.m.) when they play host to Stonehill College at the Penmen Stadium Tennis Courts.
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