WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Steven Ly, a Whitman College junior from Fairview, Ore., has been named Northwest Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Year.
The honor caps a season in which Ly compiled NWC records of 12-1 at No. 1 singles and 14-1 at No. 1 doubles. He twice was named NWC Player of the Week during the regular season.
"Since there are a number of outstanding players in the conference, it's a great honor for Steven to be named Player of the Year," Whitman coach Jeff Northam said. "I think a couple factors prompted the coaches to vote for Steven."
In terms of winning tennis, Ly was a model of consistency at the top of Whitman's singles and doubles. A team's line-up typically fluctuates during the season, but Ly played the entire spring at No. 1 singles and doubles. "This might be the first time in my coaching career at Whitman that someone has played exclusively in the top spots," Northam said.
"I'm also sure that Steven's attitude had some influence on voting by coaches," Northam added. "Besides being an outstanding player, Steven is a class act, both on and off the court."
Ly received Player of the Year honors after attracting the greatest number of votes for the all-conference team. Phalkun Mam, Ly's doubles partner, was also named to this year's All-NWC First Team.
Ly, a graduate of Centennial High School in Gresham, Ore., has earned first-team honors in each of his first three seasons at Whitman. Mam, a junior from Sprague High School in Salem, Ore., made the first team as a freshman and second team as a sophomore.
Two other Whitman juniors, Robbie Munday (Okanogan Falls, B.C./Pentincton Secondary) and Dane Miller (Sumner, Wash./Auburn-Riverside HS), were voted to this spring's All-NWC Second Team. Munday was named to the second team as a sophomore and to the first team as a freshman. Miller has earned second-team honors in each of his three seasons.
Ly, who has played primarily in the No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles slots since his freshman season, recorded his 100th career victory earlier this month. Mam and Munday also surpassed the 100-win plateau this season.
Ly is No. 7 in the most recent NCAA Div. III West Region indvidual rankings. Mam is No. 15. As a doubles team, Ly and May are ranked No. 13, two spots in front of Miller and Munday.
Ly is the first Whitman men's player to earn NWC Player of the Year honors since Tim Mullin won back-to-back awards in 2002 and 2001.
The Whitman men's team finished this season with records of 15-2 in the NWC and 19-7 overall. The Missionaries, who defeated NCAA Div. I schools Gonzaga and Eastern Washington early in the season, rose to a No. 14 national ranking among NCAA Div. III schools in late March.
Dave Holden, Whitman Sports Information, (509) 527-5902
Email: holden@whitman.edu