University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Patten Named Big South Player of the Year for Third Straight Year; Four Bulldogs in Total Receive Men’s Tennis All-Big South Honors
04.16.2019 | Men's Tennis
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – For the third straight year, UNC Asheville men's tennis standout Henry Patten has been chosen as the Big South Men's Tennis Player of the Year.
In total, Patten was one of four Bulldogs to receive postseason honors from the league office when the 2019 Big South Men's Tennis Awards were announced officially on Tuesday, April 16, 2019.
In addition to the highest honor for the third consecutive year for Patten, Leo Bierbaum, Charlie Morkel and Oli Nolan were all named all-league in singles. Nolan and Patten were named all-conference in doubles. Patten was also named to the 2019 Big South Men's Tennis All-Academic Team for the third straight year.
The now three-time reigning Big South Player of the year finished a regular season shortened by injury with 14 wins in singles. He was a perfect 5-0 in conference play and he is currently in the midst of an eight-match winning streak. Patten has a 60-9 singles record during the spring season in his four years with the Bulldogs.
Patten was named Big South Men's Tennis Player of the Week twice in the 2019 spring season. In total, Patten collected weekly plaudits from the conference office nine times in his career. He is one of just four in Big South men's tennis history to win Player of the Year three or more times.
Patten also joins Jenee Cross (1988, 1989 and 1990) of UNC Asheville women's tennis as the only Bulldogs in any sport to win Big South Player of the Year three times.
Patten is one part of the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships national championship-winning doubles pairing with Nolan. The duo is undefeated during the 2018-19 athletic year and is currently ranked second nationally. The doubles duo that became the first-ever in the league to reach No. 1 nationally was a perfect 7-0 this spring en route to earning first-team all-league accolades.
In the classroom, Patten is a double major in Management and Economics with a 3.572 grade-point average.
In singles, Nolan closed out the regular season with 11 wins in earning second-team All-Big South honors. He had three wins in league play and nine wins at No. 2 singles. He was named Big South Player of the Week on Feb. 27.
Bierbaum closed out the regular season by being named league Freshman of the Week twice in the last three weeks of the regular season for the Bulldogs. On the year, Bierbaum was an impressive 15-3 during the regular season as a rookie in collecting second-team all-conference plaudits in singles. Bierbaum was just as impressive in league play where he was 7-1 overall.
Morkel finished the regular season an impressive 15-4 overall. He was a perfect 8-0 in league play, which left him at the top of the statistics among all in the Big South at all flights as the only conference member to reach 8-0 in league play. Morkel closed the regular season in the midst of a nine-match winning streak.
The UNC Asheville men's tennis team is the third seed in the 2019 Big South Men's Tennis Championship that will be held April 17-20 and hosted by Radford University.
The third seed is the second highest for UNC Asheville men's tennis since the championship began seeding in 1994. As the third seed the Bulldogs will take on sixth-seeded Longwood at 12 p.m. on Thursday, April 18 in the quarterfinals.
The winner of the third-seeded UNC Asheville-sixth-seeded Longwood matchup will advance to the semifinals where they will take on the winner of second-seeded Campbell and seventh-seeded Winthrop at 9 a.m. on Friday, April 19.
UNC Asheville men's tennis closed out the regular season with a program-best 19 wins. The Bulldogs were an impressive 19-4 overall during the regular season. The Bulldogs were 6-2 in Big South play. UNC Asheville was a perfect 10-0 at home during the regular season.
In total, Patten was one of four Bulldogs to receive postseason honors from the league office when the 2019 Big South Men's Tennis Awards were announced officially on Tuesday, April 16, 2019.
In addition to the highest honor for the third consecutive year for Patten, Leo Bierbaum, Charlie Morkel and Oli Nolan were all named all-league in singles. Nolan and Patten were named all-conference in doubles. Patten was also named to the 2019 Big South Men's Tennis All-Academic Team for the third straight year.
The now three-time reigning Big South Player of the year finished a regular season shortened by injury with 14 wins in singles. He was a perfect 5-0 in conference play and he is currently in the midst of an eight-match winning streak. Patten has a 60-9 singles record during the spring season in his four years with the Bulldogs.
Patten was named Big South Men's Tennis Player of the Week twice in the 2019 spring season. In total, Patten collected weekly plaudits from the conference office nine times in his career. He is one of just four in Big South men's tennis history to win Player of the Year three or more times.
Patten also joins Jenee Cross (1988, 1989 and 1990) of UNC Asheville women's tennis as the only Bulldogs in any sport to win Big South Player of the Year three times.
Patten is one part of the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships national championship-winning doubles pairing with Nolan. The duo is undefeated during the 2018-19 athletic year and is currently ranked second nationally. The doubles duo that became the first-ever in the league to reach No. 1 nationally was a perfect 7-0 this spring en route to earning first-team all-league accolades.
In the classroom, Patten is a double major in Management and Economics with a 3.572 grade-point average.
In singles, Nolan closed out the regular season with 11 wins in earning second-team All-Big South honors. He had three wins in league play and nine wins at No. 2 singles. He was named Big South Player of the Week on Feb. 27.
Bierbaum closed out the regular season by being named league Freshman of the Week twice in the last three weeks of the regular season for the Bulldogs. On the year, Bierbaum was an impressive 15-3 during the regular season as a rookie in collecting second-team all-conference plaudits in singles. Bierbaum was just as impressive in league play where he was 7-1 overall.
Morkel finished the regular season an impressive 15-4 overall. He was a perfect 8-0 in league play, which left him at the top of the statistics among all in the Big South at all flights as the only conference member to reach 8-0 in league play. Morkel closed the regular season in the midst of a nine-match winning streak.
The UNC Asheville men's tennis team is the third seed in the 2019 Big South Men's Tennis Championship that will be held April 17-20 and hosted by Radford University.
The third seed is the second highest for UNC Asheville men's tennis since the championship began seeding in 1994. As the third seed the Bulldogs will take on sixth-seeded Longwood at 12 p.m. on Thursday, April 18 in the quarterfinals.
The winner of the third-seeded UNC Asheville-sixth-seeded Longwood matchup will advance to the semifinals where they will take on the winner of second-seeded Campbell and seventh-seeded Winthrop at 9 a.m. on Friday, April 19.
UNC Asheville men's tennis closed out the regular season with a program-best 19 wins. The Bulldogs were an impressive 19-4 overall during the regular season. The Bulldogs were 6-2 in Big South play. UNC Asheville was a perfect 10-0 at home during the regular season.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Thursday, June 18
Wednesday, March 18
Wednesday, March 11
Friday, February 06