LATHAM, N.Y. - The United East has announced its 2026 Men’s Tennis All-Conference Teams and Major Award winners. The two All-Conference teams are each made up of six singles players and three doubles teams, regardless of flight. The conference also awarded its Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and its Coach of the Year for the 2025-26 season.
Major Award Winners
Player of the Year – Cooper Wheeler (Penn State Harrisburg)
Rookie of the Year - Ved Pawar (Penn State Harrisburg)
Coach of the Year - Andrew Bookman (Penn State Harrisburg)
Cooper Wheeler had an outstanding season for the Lions, going undefeated in conference play in the No. 1 single position. In addition, Wheeler teamed with doubles partner Damir Cuturic and were undefeated in double play in conference this season. In one of the biggest matches of the season, Wheeler defeat St. Mary’s College (Md.) top player Max Esztergomi, 6-0, 6-2.
Ved Pawar made an immediate impact in his first season in Blue & White, showing skill in both singles and doubles play. He did not drop a singles or doubles match in conference play, going 5-0 in singles play and 6-0 in doubles play. He moved up and down the line up as needed, earning a win in the No. 1 single match in Harrisburg’s contest against Lancaster Bible College. Pawar was also impressive in nonconference play as he is now 10-0 in singles play this season.
Andrew Bookman has repeated as United East Coach of the Year after helping Lions once again go 7-0 in conference play. Under his leadership, Harrisburg earned three first team all-conference singles honors and two first team all-conference doubles awards. Bookman’s success followed him into the postseason where the Lions hoisted the conference trophy for the third-straight year.
Find the All-Conference honorees below:
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
| Position |
Student-Athlete(s) |
Institution |
| Singles |
Cooper Wheeler |
Penn State Harrisburg |
| Singles |
Max Esztergomi |
St. Mary’s College of Maryland |
| Singles |
Ved Pawar |
Penn State Harrisburg |
| Singles |
Damir Cuturic |
Penn State Harrisburg |
| Singles |
Jacob Nelson |
St. Mary's College of Maryland |
| Singles |
Talan Nguyen |
Penn State Berks |
| Doubles |
Cooper Wheeler / Damir Cuturic |
Penn State Harrisburg |
| Doubles |
Ved Pawar / Colin Flack |
Penn State Harrisburg |
| Doubles |
Max Esztergomi / Aidan Cron |
St. Mary’s College of Maryland |
SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
| Position |
Student-Athlete(s) |
Institution |
| Singles |
Daniel Trott |
Penn State Abington |
| Singles |
Cole Stoltzfus |
Lancaster Bible College |
| Singles |
Nate Willoughby |
St. Mary's College of Maryland |
| Singles |
Alex Lyman |
St. Mary's College of Maryland |
| Singles |
Aidan Cron |
St. Mary's College of Maryland |
| Singles |
Jazae Maina-Itegi |
Penn State Berks |
| Doubles |
Jacob Nelson / Alex Lyman |
St. Mary’s College of Maryland |
| Doubles |
Daniel Trott / Mark Tymchenko |
Penn State Abington |
| Doubles |
Talan Nguyen / Jazae Maina-Itegi |
Penn State Berks |
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The United East boasts 14 NCAA Division III full member institutions which include: Cairn University, Cedar Crest College, Gallaudet University, Keystone College, Lancaster Bible College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Penn College, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Brandywine, Penn State Harrisburg, St. Mary's College of Maryland, University of Valley Forge, and Wilson College. For more information, please visit gounitedeast.com.