Penn State Altoona men’s tennis was well-represented on the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference’s All-Conference team, which was released earlier this week.

The Lions swept all three major individual awards, as senior Nick Beard was voted the AMCC Player of the Year, freshman Ivan Bene was picked the Newcomer of the Year, and head coach Megan Stern was selected the Coach of the Year.

Additionally, Beard, Bene, junior Jackson Newell, sophomore Gabriel Lopez, senior Emmett Hibbs and junior Wilhelm Grot were all voted to various spots on the All-Conference team.

Nick Beard, AMCC Player of the Year: Beard had an excellent senior campaign for the Lions. In singles, he played all his matches at the No. 1 position, where he compiled a 14-3 overall record that included a 7-1 mark within the AMCC. In doubles, he went 12-5 overall with a 6-2 conference record.

Ivan Bene, AMCC Newcomer of the Year: Bene put together a strong freshman season for Penn State Altoona. In singles play, he posted an 8-5 overall record, including going 5-0 in the AMCC, while making all his appearances in the No. 2 spot. In doubles, the freshman was 11-4 overall, including a 5-1 AMCC record.

Megan Stern, AMCC Coach of the Year: Stern earns her third AMCC Coach of the Year honor, after previously being selected for the award in the 2022 and 2024 seasons.

This year, she helped guide Penn State Altoona to a 12-6 overall record, tying for the second-most wins in a season in program history. The Lions went 6-2 in the AMCC to place second in the regular season standings, and the team went on to finish as the AMCC runner-up.

Hole-in-one

Gene Snyder sank a hole-in-one while playing at the Iron Masters Country Club.

He made the shot on No. 16, 140-yards long and a par-3. He used a 7-iron for the fifth hole-in-one of his career.

It was witnessed by Blane Horton and John McLucas.