Big South Announces 2026 Men's Tennis Annual Award Winners
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (
www.BigSouthSports.com) – Longwood’s
Timéo Puech (Maisons-Alfort, France) has been voted the 2026 Big South Men’s Tennis Player of the Year by the league’s head coaches, it was announced today. Gardner-Webb head coach
Mike Griffith was voted Coach of the Year, GWU’s
Noah Zeiger (Heildberg, Germany) was selected Freshman of the Year by the group, and Presbyterian College’s
Matija Samardzic (Podgorica, Montenegro) was voted Newcomer of the Year. NJIT sophomore
Riccardo Campagnola (Zané, Italy) was voted Men’s Tennis Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Big South’s tennis communications contacts.
Puech is the first Lancer to be voted Big South Men’s Tennis Player of the Year during Longwood’s conference affiliation (since 2013). Puech, who won the Big South Individual Singles Championship in the fall, has played to a 20-6 singles record in all competitions this season, including an 8-3 mark this spring, all at No. 1 and having won his last six matches. Teaming with
Daniel Borisov primarily, he has a 16-11 doubles record in all competitions and is 7-5 in duals. The Big South Player of the Year award is the first in Longwood men’s and women’s tennis history.
Playing in his first collegiate year, Zeiger led the Runnin’ Bulldogs with a 12-3 overall record in singles action where he mainly played on courts four and five while also winning eight matches in doubles competition. In addition, Zeiger was named Big South Freshman of the Week on five separate occasions. He tallied seven straight-set wins during the course of the season, including reeling off 10 consecutive victories while going undefeated in conference play.
Griffith led the Runnin’ Bulldogs to their fourth consecutive Big South regular-season championship after posting a perfect 3-0 mark in conference play, including a 7-0 win at UNC Asheville. Most impressively, Griffith’s Runnin’ Bulldogs played all of their matches away from the friendly confines of the Webb Tennis Complex, as GWU finished the regular-season with an overall record of 15-5. Set to retire at the end of the season, Griffith surpassed 200 career wins during his time in the Big South after a 6-1 win over Converse on Feb. 28. This recognition marks the fifth time Griffith has earned Coach of the Year honors and the fourth straight.
Samardzic is the first Blue Hose player to win Big South Newcomer of the Year honors since the award was added in 2024. He posted a 12-4 overall record in singles -- including wins at #1 against Kennesaw State, Furman, and Campbell, and was 3-1 at No. 1, 3-0 at No. 2 and 6-3 at No. 3. His undefeated mark at No. 2 singles came in conference play. Samardzic finished doubles action with a 14-4 record at the No. 1 poistion, and was ranked as high as No. 56 with partner
David Mamalat. The duo recorded a win over No. 34-ranked South Carolina, won the Big South Individual Doubles Championship back in October, and reached the Quarterfinals at the Conference Masters after taking out the No. 3 seed.
Campagnola is a 3.921 student majoring in Financial Technology, and owns a 7-1 record at No. 3 singles along with a 4-1 mark at No. 4 for a combined season record of 11-2. He also finished the regular-season with a 7-5 doubles record, and played a key role in the Highlanders’ 10-match winning streak to close the season.
2026 BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE MEN'S TENNIS AWARD WINNERS
First Team All-Conference Singles
Timéo Puech, Longwood
Alexandre Bergeron, Gardner-Webb
Matija Samardzic, Presbyterian College
Miguel Angel Machado, Bryant
David Mamalat, Presbyterian College
Boyd Schreiber, Gardner-Webb
First Team All-Conference Doubles Teams
David Mamalat & Matija Samardzic, Presbyterian College
Wil Jenkins & Soma Fukuhara, NJIT
Miguel Angel Machado & Daniel Baquero, Bryant
Timéo Puech & Daniel Borisov, Longwood
Second Team All-Conference Singles
Noah Zeiger, Gardner-Webb
Daniel Borisov, Longwood
Wil Jenkins, NJIT
Soma Fukuhara, NJIT
Alejandro Uribe, Longwood
Daksh Prasad, Presbyterian College
Second Team All-Conference Doubles Teams
Boyd Schreiber & Kaua Cressoni, Gardner-Webb
Alexandre Bergeron & Noah Zeiger, Gardner-Webb
Alejandro Uribe & Daniel Lopez, Longwood
Graham Bourne & Johan Van Wijk, Gardner-Webb
All-Academic Team
Miguel Angel Machado, Bryant
Johan Van Wijk, Gardner-Webb
Daniel Lopez, Longwood
Riccardo Campagnola, NJIT
David Mamalat, Presbyterian College
Leo Kolbe, UNC Asheville
Player of the Year
Timéo Puech, Longwood
Freshman of the Year
Noah Zeiger, Gardner-Webb
Coach of the Year
Mike Griffith, Gardner-Webb
Newcomer of the Year
Matija Samardzic, Presbyterian College
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Riccardo Campagnola, NJIT