Photo by: Steve Branscombe
Lanahan, Gandini & Lilly Claim BIG EAST Honors
5/3/2023 1:05:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Matthew Lanahan earns Unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team honors, Alejandro Gandini claims Second Team Honors and Tom Lilly shares BIG EAST Coach of the Year Honors
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton men's tennis junior Matthew Lanahan was named a unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection and sophomore Alejandro Gandini earned All-BIG EAST Second Team honors, while Tom Lilly shared BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors, the league announced on Wednesday, May 3. The selections were made by the league's head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players.
Lilly earns his first Coach of the Year honor at the league level after guiding the Bluejays to the programs first ever No. 1 seed in a conference tournament. He led Creighton to a 13-7 record this season, which featured the programs first ever trip to the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament. Earlier this season, Lilly became just the fourth coach in Creighton history to collect 500 career victories, with 227 of those coming on the men's side.
This is Lilly's 26th year leading the Creighton's men's tennis program, while he also heads the Bluejay women's tennis team.
A native of Chula Vista, Calif., Lanahan has held the No. 1 position in singles and doubles action during the entire 2023 season, while helping the team to a 13-7 overall record. Lanahan, a three-time BIG EAST Singles Player of the Week honoree, owned 11 wins in singles play, which included a nine-match win streak from Jan. 28 to March 10. He also finished the season with a 5-1 record in singles play against BIG EAST competition.
The junior also combined for eight wins at the top doubles position to lead the Bluejays. Lanahan teamed up with graduate transfer Casey Ross for four wins at the No. 1 doubles spot, while also pairing with Gandini for four wins at the top doubles position, including a critical 6-2 victory over Villanova's Tighe Brunetti and Michael Fourticq to earn the doubles point in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Championships.
Lanahan is Creighton's first men's tennis player to be named First Team All-Conference since Harrison Lang earned All-BIG EAST recognition in 2017.
Gandini earned Second Team All-BIG EAST honors after leading the Bluejays with 21 combined victories this season, primarily at the No. 3 singles and the top two doubles positions. The Santiago, Dominican Republic native, paced the Bluejays with 12 wins in singles play, including a 6-3, 6-3 straight sets win over Butler's Borja Miralles in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championships.
The sophomore also teamed up with four different Bluejays for nine wins across the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles positions. Gandini claimed four wins at the top slot with Lanahan, while earning four five victories at the No. 2 doubles spot with Kirtan Patel and Yuma Daijima.
St. John's graduate student Diogo Marques was named BIG EAST Player of the Year, while DePaul's Aleksa Krivokapic nabbed BIG EAST Freshman of the Year honors. In addition to Marques and Lanahan, the All- BIG EAST First Team includes: Thomas Brennan of Butler, Jake Fellows of Georgetown, Carl Gustavson of St. John's and Leon Huck of DePaul.
BIG EAST Player of the Year: Diogo Marques, St. John's
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year: Aleksa Krivokapic, DePaul
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year: Creighton & St. John's
All- BIG EAST First Team
Thomas Brrennan, Butler^
Jake Fellows, Georgetown^
Carl Gustavson, St. John's^
Leon Huck, DePaul^
Matthew Lanahan^
Diogo Marques, St. John's^
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Tighe Brunetti, Villanova
Alejandro Gandini, Creighton
Alvaro Huete, Butler^
Aleksa Krivokapic, DePaul^
Zamaan Moledina, Georgetown
Deacon Thomas, Xavier^
^Denotes a unanimous selection
Lilly earns his first Coach of the Year honor at the league level after guiding the Bluejays to the programs first ever No. 1 seed in a conference tournament. He led Creighton to a 13-7 record this season, which featured the programs first ever trip to the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament. Earlier this season, Lilly became just the fourth coach in Creighton history to collect 500 career victories, with 227 of those coming on the men's side.
This is Lilly's 26th year leading the Creighton's men's tennis program, while he also heads the Bluejay women's tennis team.
A native of Chula Vista, Calif., Lanahan has held the No. 1 position in singles and doubles action during the entire 2023 season, while helping the team to a 13-7 overall record. Lanahan, a three-time BIG EAST Singles Player of the Week honoree, owned 11 wins in singles play, which included a nine-match win streak from Jan. 28 to March 10. He also finished the season with a 5-1 record in singles play against BIG EAST competition.
The junior also combined for eight wins at the top doubles position to lead the Bluejays. Lanahan teamed up with graduate transfer Casey Ross for four wins at the No. 1 doubles spot, while also pairing with Gandini for four wins at the top doubles position, including a critical 6-2 victory over Villanova's Tighe Brunetti and Michael Fourticq to earn the doubles point in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Championships.
Lanahan is Creighton's first men's tennis player to be named First Team All-Conference since Harrison Lang earned All-BIG EAST recognition in 2017.
Gandini earned Second Team All-BIG EAST honors after leading the Bluejays with 21 combined victories this season, primarily at the No. 3 singles and the top two doubles positions. The Santiago, Dominican Republic native, paced the Bluejays with 12 wins in singles play, including a 6-3, 6-3 straight sets win over Butler's Borja Miralles in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championships.
The sophomore also teamed up with four different Bluejays for nine wins across the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles positions. Gandini claimed four wins at the top slot with Lanahan, while earning four five victories at the No. 2 doubles spot with Kirtan Patel and Yuma Daijima.
St. John's graduate student Diogo Marques was named BIG EAST Player of the Year, while DePaul's Aleksa Krivokapic nabbed BIG EAST Freshman of the Year honors. In addition to Marques and Lanahan, the All- BIG EAST First Team includes: Thomas Brennan of Butler, Jake Fellows of Georgetown, Carl Gustavson of St. John's and Leon Huck of DePaul.
BIG EAST Player of the Year: Diogo Marques, St. John's
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year: Aleksa Krivokapic, DePaul
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year: Creighton & St. John's
All- BIG EAST First Team
Thomas Brrennan, Butler^
Jake Fellows, Georgetown^
Carl Gustavson, St. John's^
Leon Huck, DePaul^
Matthew Lanahan^
Diogo Marques, St. John's^
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Tighe Brunetti, Villanova
Alejandro Gandini, Creighton
Alvaro Huete, Butler^
Aleksa Krivokapic, DePaul^
Zamaan Moledina, Georgetown
Deacon Thomas, Xavier^
^Denotes a unanimous selection
Players Mentioned
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