PAC Release

TRAFFORD, Pa. -- Seven student-athletes from the Allegheny College men's tennis team were included on the 2026 All-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Teams, as announced by the conference office on Tuesday.

The Gators, who won their fourth consecutive conference championship this spring, swept the PAC's three major awards. For the second year in a row, Allegheny took home both the Player and Newcomer of the Year awards, while fifth-year head coach Dave Hayden was once again voted Coach of the Year.

Allegheny's entire lineup was voted to the All-PAC First or Second Team. Four Gators were named to the All-PAC First Team for singles: Adam Memije (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway), Levente Mihaly (Békéscsaba, Hungary/Békéscsabai SZC Széchenyi István), Javier Bejarano Jimenez (El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain/IES Padre Luis Coloma), and David Rodriguez (St. Ann's, Trinidad & Tobago/Fatima College). Two of Allegheny's doubles tandems – Mihaly and Olivier Erkens (Gouda, Netherlands/Coornhert Gymnasium) plus Memije and Benedek Kaibas (Salgótarján, Hungary/Mikszáth Kálmán Gimnázium) – also earned first-team accolades.

The All-PAC Second Team included Erkens and Zidaan Hassan (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) for singles and the duo of Hassan and Rodriguez for doubles.

The third Gator to win PAC Newcomer of the Year and the fourth consecutive Allegheny athlete tabbed the Player of the Year, Memije set a new program record for singles wins in a season with a 27-5 overall record, highlighted by a 17-4 mark at No. 1 in dual competition. He broke a two-way tie with Patrick Cole '14 and took sole possession of the record with a 6-1, 6-0 victory against Penn State Behrend in Allegheny's NCAA regional win. In doubles, Memije was 11-11, but was undefeated in five matches against PAC foes.

Mihaly earned a spot on the All-PAC First Team for singles for a second year in a row. He finished the year 16-12 with a pair of wins at No. 1 against the University of Mount Union in October and Westminster College in April. Mihaly led all Gators with 20 doubles victories, including 15 with Erkens as his partner. In the PAC Championship Tournament, Mihaly and Erkens shut out Washington and Jefferson College. Mihaly was also named Allegheny's representative 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.

A four-time PAC champion and now an eight-time All-PAC honoree, Rodriguez capped off a noteworthy career as a senior in 2025-26. He combined for 27 total wins, 12 in singles action and 15 in doubles. Rodriguez was 5-0 in the regular season against conference rivals, outscoring his opponents 60-9. He also picked up a 6-0, 6-1 triumph against Grove City in the PAC title match. In doubles, Rodriguez and Hassan swept their last two postseason matches against the Wolverines and Penn State Behrend.

Bejarano Jimenez posted a near-perfect singles record this season. He finished 14-1 with at least one victory in the top five spots in the lineup. On April 11, he picked up a 6-1, 6-0 win over Thiel College's Tyrus Horton at No. 1, then beat Grove City's Ryan Kirkpatrick that afternoon, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4. Bejarano Jimenez was the only Gator to steal a match from No. 18-ranked Carnegie Mellon University with a 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 5.

Erkens pieced together a 31-win campaign as a sophomore. He played as high as No. 2 in the singles lineup, where he took down Westminster's Aydan Gross, 6-3, 6-1, on April 8. The Netherlands native played most of his doubles contests with Mihaly, as the duo went 15-9 overall and 6-0 in conference play. In the first round of the NCAA tournament, they downed Behrend's Graham Louis and Owen Sinnott, 6-3.

Kaibas was recognized for his performance in doubles for a third consecutive year. Of his 14 wins, 10 were earned from the second flight. He and Memije teamed up for a hard-fought 7-6 (7-5) victory against Trine University's Drew Hackney and Emmett Wirth during the spring break trip in Florida, while Kaibas and Rodriguez swept Thiel's top tandem with a 6-0 decision on April 11.

A two-time PAC Newcomer of the Week, Hassan turned in a strong freshman campaign for the Blue and Gold. He was 20-9 as a singles competitor with wins ranging from the third through sixth positions. He secured a pair of three-set wins with a 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 10-4 defeat of Oberlin College's Max Brose at the Allegheny Invitational in August and a 7-6 (8-6), 2-6, 10-0 win against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Chris Lian over spring break.

Hayden's peers elected him the PAC Coach of the Year for a fourth time. In 2025-26, the Gators went 18-8 with an undefeated 8-0 mark against PAC teams. Since rejoining the conference, Hayden's Gators have won all 32 regular-season matches and eight postseason contests against PAC teams. Allegheny also reached the second round of the NCAA tournament for the third time in as many years.