MVB & TENN Spring Feature: Who could have potentially made it into the AOTY tournament from Wilkes men’s volleyball and both tennis teams?
No. 8 Maddie Kelley (women’s basketball/field hockey) and No. 19 Karlye Huffman (women’s volleyball) will face-off in the final Twitter poll to determine the Women’s Athlete of the Year for 2020. Voting will take place on Twitter on the @WilkesBeacon account. Voting begins at 8 p.m. on Wednesday and runs until 8 p.m. on Thursday.
With the COVID-19 virus canceling spring athletics at Wilkes University, spring sports seasons were cut short. Men’s volleyball and men’s and women’s tennis are sports that were impacted.
Men’s Volleyball
Men’s volleyball was already halfway through its season with a 10-9 overall record. The other spring seasons had just started, only playing one week before COVID-19 shut the country down.
With 12 matches remaining in their season, a playoff berth could have been in the future for the Colonels.
Junior Andrew Potter was a standout for the team this season, leading the team in total kills and being a leader on the court to earn a spot in The Beacon’s Athlete of the Year tournament.
The freshmen duo of Zach Evans and Zach Shay was imperative on the court. The two had impressive seasons to start their college careers, with Evans tying Potter with 166 kills and Shay being the team’s setter and floor general.
Shay’s performance also earned him a spot in the Athlete of the Year tournament.
Men’s and Women’s Tennis
As for both tennis teams, their season was set to get underway before the virus spread across America. After the fall season and spring break trip, both men’s and women’s tennis had their season cut short.
Unlike most other spring sports, tennis plays two seasons – one in the fall and one in the spring. Even though it is upsetting to have a season cut short, at least these players had the opportunity to play one of their seasons.
Francesca Varela-Seri and Alexa Cieri had standout seasons for the women’s team, earning them spots in the Athlete of the year tournament.
The men’s side was not as fortunate, however, as a 1-3 spring record was not ideal after the fall season.
Seniors Chris Maderitz and Alec Levin were looking to close our their collegiate careers. Maderitz had previously earned a No. 5 seed in The Beacon’s inaugural Athlete of the Year tournament for the 2017-2018 academic year.
Maderitz did not make an appearance in last year’s tournament, as then-senior Courtney Murphy earned the No. 3 seed.
Levin was second on the team in doubles wins.