April 28, 2011

PARK RIDGE, Ill. - Illinois junior Dennis Nevolo and senior Johnny Hamui were selected to 2011 All-Big Ten teams, it was announced Thursday evening by the conference office. Nevolo was recognized for the third straight year and earned first-team honors unanimously, while it was the first-career accolade for Hamui, who was chosen to the second-team, which was just added this season. The selections mark the 15th straight year the Illini have secured at least two All-Big Ten honorees and the 22nd year with at least one.

Nevolo finished 6-3 against conference opponents, including two wins over nationally ranked foes, and played all nine matches at the No. 1 spot. He secured his third straight 20-plus wins season, boasting a team-best 25, including a career-high 13 over nationally ranked opponents. He has been ranked in singles and doubles all season long, reaching as high as a career-best No. 7 in singles and No. 16 in doubles with senior Abe Souza.

Hamui went 6-3 in Big Ten matches playing Nos. 1-4 singles and won four straight to close out the conference season. He ranks fourth on the team with 16 wins overall and has remained in the singles rankings all season, reaching as high as a career-high No. 33.

Big Ten champion Ohio State swept the top individual honors, as Chase Buchanan was named Big Ten Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row, while Blaz Rola took home Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors and for the sixth consecutive year, Ty Tucker was selected Big Ten Coach of the Year.

Senior Connor Roth was named Illinois' Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree. The 11 student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. These student-athletes are now candidates for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, as the conference office will honor one male and one female student-athlete from each institution at the end of the school year.

The fourth-seeded Illini open play at the Big Ten Tournament in the quarterfinals on Friday against fifth-seeded Michigan at 10 a.m. CT.

First-Team All-Big Ten*
DENNIS NEVOLO, Illinois
Santiago Gruter, Indiana
Jeremy Langer, Indiana
JASON JUNG, Michigan
EVAN KING, Michigan
Rok Bonin, Minnesota
TOBIAS WERNET, Minnesota
Matt Allare, Ohio State
CHASE BUCHANAN, Ohio State
Balazs Novak, Ohio State
BLAZ ROLA, Ohio State
Ille Van Engelen, Ohio State
MAREK MICHALICKA, Wisconsin

*Additional honorees due to a tie
Unanimous selections in CAPS

Second-Team All-Big Ten
Johnny Hamui, Illinois
Josh MacTaggart, Indiana
Marc Bruche, Iowa
Josh Graves, Northwestern
Devin McCarthy, Ohio State
Mark Kovacs, Purdue
Szymon Tatarczyk, Purdue

Athlete of the Year: Chase Buchanan, Ohio State
Freshman of the Year: Blaz Rola, Ohio State
Coach of the Year: Ty Tucker, Ohio State

Sportsmanship Award Honorees
Connor Roth, Illinois
Stephen Vogl, Indiana
Will Vasos, Iowa
Shaun Bernstein, Michigan
Clark Richardson, Michigan State
Tobias Wernet, Minnesota
Andrew McCarthy, Northwestern
Matt Allare, Ohio State
Bryan Welnetz, Penn State
Szymon Tatarczyk, Purdue
Marek Michalicka, Wisconsin