Kuhar named USTA Rhode Island's Male College Tennis Player of the Year
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Bryant University men's tennis rising junior Matt Kuhar (Smithfield, R.I.) has been named the Andy Chase/Gordie Ernst Award winner as Rhode Island's top male collegiate tennis player.
Kuhar, the 2017 Northeast Conference Player of the Year, has now won the award twice in the last three years and will receive his honor during a center court ceremony at the Dell International Tennis Hall of Fame Championships on Wednesday, July 19 in Newport. He also won the inaugural award in 2014-15 after his freshman season.
"It was a tough road back for Matt, who was still not 100% throughout most of the season," head coach Ron Gendron said. "He showed true grit. This is a great honor that I'm proud to see him earn. I would also like to thank USTA RI for their continued support of tennis in the Ocean State."
Presented by USTA Rhode Island, the Andy Chase/Gordie Ernst Award (male) and the Jill Craybas Award (female) are given to the male and female college players of the year who are from the Ocean State, but not necessarily playing at a Rhode Island School. Evelyn Miller, a rising senior at Colby-Sawyer College, is the recipient of the female player of the year honor.
"These two awards are in line with our mission statement of promoting the growth and development of tennis in the state, including college tennis," said Douglas Chapman, USTA Rhode Island's president and CEO. "We named the awards after Rhode Island's most successful college players of the past, and we have two outstanding recipients again this year."
The honor comes after Kuhar put together one of best seasons for a tennis player in program history. He returned from injury to go 19-6 in singles play, including a 12-3 mark at No. 1 singles. Kuhar made history multiple times this spring, becoming the first male to earn NEC Player of the Year honors in school history, while also becoming the first tennis player in school history to win a set in the NCAA Tournament at the Division I level. Facing No. 32 ranked Andrew Harris from Oklahoma, Kuhar earned a dominant 6-0 first-set victory before the match went unfinished.
In addition, Kuhar became just the second Bulldog in DI history to earn a regional ranking from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), coming in at No. 16 in the Northeast Region in June.
"We are excited about Matt's progress this summer and are looking forward to see what he can do with a healthy fall," Gendron added.
The son of Mark and Mary Kuhar, Matt is a 2014 graduate from Smithfield High School, where he won three Rhode Island state singles championships and led the Sentinels to a pair of state team championships. He earned First Team All-State honors in each of his four seasons at Smithfield. Kuhar won singles championships at the 2012 New England Hard Court and Clay Court Tournaments, as well as capturing the inaugural New Balance/National High School Singles Championship in 2014.
ABOUT THE AWARDS
JILL CRAYBAS – A native of East Greenwich, Craybas is the most successful tennis player in Rhode Island history. She was a RIISL high school state singles champion for the Lincoln School and captured the 1996 NCAA singles championship for the University of Florida, when she was the National College Player of the Year. She is the only player in NCAA history to be a member of Division I championship teams at two different schools (Texas and Florida). A two-time SEC Player of the Year, she finished her college career with a 124-18 record. A Florida Gator Hall of Famer, she played nearly 20 years on the WTA Tour. She won the 2002 Japan Open and five doubles titles on the main tour. She was ranked as high as #3 in the US and #41 in the world. A regular for the US Fed Cup team. Her most notable result came at Wimbledon in 2005, where she defeated Serena Williams and Marion Bartoli.
ANDY CHASE – A native of Cumberland, Chase was the US National 16 & Under Hardcourt Singles Champion and a two-time national junior doubles champion. He won two RIILS state singles championships and team championship for Cumberland. He went on to play at Stanford University, where he was a teammate of John McEnroe. The Cardinal won three NCAA Division I team championships during his four years in Palo Alto.
GORDIE ERNST – A native of Cranston, Ernst won four RIISL state singles championship and four doubles championships (three at Cranston East and one at Hendricken), including three with his brother, Bobby Ernst. He was 97-0 in his high school singles career. Ernst was a two-sport athlete at Brown University, was a NHL draft choice and briefly played on the pro tennis tour. Ernst is the head men's and women's tennis coach at Georgetown University, having previously coached at Penn and Northwestern.