PAC Release

TRAFFORD, Pa. -- The Allegheny College men's tennis team swept the major year-end awards from the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) and placed eight student-athletes on the 2025 All-PAC teams.

The three-time defending PAC champions swept all three annual awards from the PAC office for the first time since rejoining the conference. For the third year in a row, Anton Hedlund (Hovas, Sweden/Katrinelundsgymnasiet) and head coach Dave Hayden received PAC Player and Coach of the Year, respectively. Kristian Janci (Kysucké Nové Mesto, Slovakia/The British International School Shanghai) was also recognized as the league's Newcomer of the Year.

Hedlund and Janci paced Allegheny's All-PAC selections as the only two Gators included on the first teams for both singles and doubles. They were joined on the All-PAC teams by Levente Mihaly (Békéscsaba, Hungary/Békéscsabai SZC Széchenyi István), David Rodriguez (St. Ann's, Trinidad & Tobago/Fatima College), Arick Baldwin (Oakwood, Ohio/Oakwood), Javier Bejarano Jimenez (El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain/IES Padre Luis Coloma), Benedek Kaibas (Salgótarján, Hungary/Mikszáth Kálmán Gimnázium), and Olivier Erkens (Gouda, Netherlands/Coornhert Gymnasium).

Hedlund concluded a remarkable career as one of the most decorated men's tennis players in school history. He's only the fourth PAC student-athlete since 1991 to earn three consecutive PAC Player of the Year awards, and he was named the PAC Championship Tournament Most Outstanding Player in each of the last three seasons. On the court in 2024-25, Hedlund posted a remarkable 49-13 overall record with a 16-0 record against PAC opponents in the regular season. His 25 doubles wins tied the program record for most in a season, and his 49 total wins were just two shy of the single-season record. For his career, Hedlund graduated second all-time with 152 career wins to go along with seven first-team all-conference awards from the PAC and North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC).

Janci is the second Gator in the last three years to receive Newcomer of the Year. The first-year netter from Slovakia joined the team at the beginning of the spring semester and quickly established himself as one of the strongest competitors in the PAC. Janci went 29-5 with 25 wins from the No. 1 position. His only losses came against top-25 nationally-ranked teams, and he even won the opening set of his No. 1 singles match in the second round of the NCAA Championships against the seventh-best player in the country. 

Mihaly was another first-year standout who made an immediate impact on Allegheny's 2024-25 campaign. He was included on the All-PAC First Team for singles and the second team for doubles. Mihaly was slotted as high as No. 2 in the singles lineup while earning time in all three spots in doubles competition. He finished the year 14-0 against PAC opponents, and his 22 doubles victories were the second-most on the team.

Rodriguez was voted to the All-PAC First Team for doubles for the third consecutive season. He also earned a spot on the All-PAC Second Team as a singles competitor. He ended the year 18-6 in singles action and 18-7 in doubles, which included 11 wins against conference foes. In the opening round of the NCAA Championships against Nichols College, Rodriguez had a 7-5 No. 3 doubles victory and a 6-4, 6-4 win in the No. 4 singles match.

Throughout most of the year, Rodriguez partnered with Baldwin, who earned his first-ever All-PAC award on the doubles second team. The freshman recorded 10 of his 15 doubles matches with Rodriguez. In dual matches, he had nine doubles wins, including two in the PAC Championship Tournament and one in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

A sophomore transfer from Eastern Nazarene College, Bejarano Jimenez was rewarded as an All-PAC Second Teamer for singles. He was one of only two Gators to play singles in all eight conference matches, with wins ranging from second to fifth. Bejarano Jimenez pieced together a 10-match win streak before the PAC tournament, and his 6-0, 6-1 victory in the finals against Grove City College was the championship-clinching point. Bejarano Jimenez also represented Allegheny on the PAC Sportsmanship Team. The PAC Sportsmanship Teams were established to recognize student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior, and are an ongoing effort to recognize and encourage positive sportsmanship among all PAC teams and student-athletes.

Kaibas, an All-PAC Second Team doubles selection, was one of three Allegheny netters to collect at least 20 doubles wins throughout the season. The junior went 8-0 against PAC opponents and added two 6-1 victories alongside Mihaly in the conference tournament to help Allegheny capture its third championship in a row.

Erkens finished his freshman season as an All-PAC Honorable Mention for his performance in the singles lineup. He posted an 8-5 overall record with a trio of wins in PAC matches, all of which were earned in fifth singles contests. Erkens also posted 14 doubles wins, including two in the PAC tournament.

Hayden's peers around the PAC voted him the Men's Tennis Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season. Not only did he lead Allegheny to another conference title, but the Gators tied a program record for wins in a season with 21. Since rejoining the PAC, Hayden's teams have combined for a perfect 30-0 record against conference opponents in the regular season and playoffs. In 2025, every PAC match, including the tournament semifinals and finals, ended in a shutout. The ITA national polls ranked the Gators as high as No. 50 this spring.