BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- One day after being named the Patriot League's Player of the Year, Navy men's tennis player
Sasha Panyan (Jr., Lutherville, Md.) was announced as the league's scholar-athlete of the year for the sport.
Panyan is the third Navy men's tennis player (Andrew Ton '21,
Derrick Thompson '22) and fourth men's or women's tennis player in the league to have earned all of the major individual awards presented by the Patriot League at least once in a career: rookie of the year (won by Panyan in 2021), player of the year (2023), tournament MVP (2023) and scholar-athlete of the year (2023).
Nominees for the league's scholar-athlete award and all-academic team needed to be at least a sophomore in the classroom and carry a minimum 3.20 cumulative grade-point average.
Panyan has compiled a 3.53 grade-point average as a cyber operations major at Navy. He was named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Scholar-Athlete in 2022 and has received academic honors from the USNA in each of his five completed semesters.
On the court, Panyan put together a 23-9 overall record in singles this season, a mark that included a 16-6 record at No. 1 singles and an 8-0 record in matches against league foes. He and
Luke Garner (So., Arnold, Md.) were named the league's doubles team of the year this season after they posted a 22-1 record at the No. 1 flight. The pair tallied a 7-0 record against league opponents this spring.
Panyan is the eighth Mid to be named the league's scholar-athlete of the year for the sport. Those eight Mids have combined for 11 awards, which are the most men's tennis awards won by any school in the league. Navy players have won the accolade each of the last seven times it has been presented.
Navy, winners of the Patriot League Tournament for a fifth year in a row, will play at No. 5 Virginia Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
2023 Academic All-Patriot League Team
AJ Woodman, Army West Point, Sr.
Ben Letzer, Boston University, Jr.
Michael Owen, Bucknell, Jr.
Michael Bukhalo, Lehigh, Sr.
Matt Cardano, Loyola Maryland, Jr.
Sasha Panyan, Navy, Jr. -- 2023 Scholar-Athlete of the Year
