NORTH BOSTON, N.Y. — Penn State Altoona men’s tennis student-athlete Andrew Chronister of York was voted the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference’s Newcomer of the Year and co-Player of the Year, while head coach Megan Stern was chosen as the Coach of the Year, highlighting eight Lions recognized in the league’s postseason awards, which were released on Tuesday, April 23.
In addition to those three individual awards, seven different Lion players combined to receive all-conference honors in nine different positions. Chronister, Casey Hess of Annville, Nick Beard of Manns Choice, Kadyn Carey of Altoona, Wilhelm Grot of Tyrone, and Emmett Hibbs of Richfield were voted to the first team of the All-AMCC team in various lineup spots, while Jackson Newell of Leechburg, Chronister, Hess, and Hibbs also received second-team honors.
Chronister voted Newcomer of the Year, co-Player of the Year
Chronister put together an historic season for the Lions in 2023-24. He set Penn State Altoona men’s tennis single-season records for overall singles wins (15) and doubles wins (14), compiling a 15-1 record in singles matches and a 14-1 mark in doubles matches. Chronister posted a 5-1 record when competing in AMCC matches for both singles and doubles play. In addition to being honored as the conference’s top first-year player, he shares the AMCC’s co-Player of the Year recognition with Penn State Behrend junior Jonathon Laier.
Stern chosen as AMCC Coach of the Year
Stern, who just completed her sixth season as the Penn State Altoona men’s tennis head coach, was voted by her peers as the league’s Coach of the Year for the second time in her career. She guided the Lions to an 11-5 overall record during the 2023-24 season, including a 5-1 mark in the AMCC that gave her team the number two seed in the conference postseason tournament. Penn State Altoona went on to become AMCC runners-up for the second consecutive year, after a narrow one-point loss to champion Behrend in the league’s title match last Sunday. Stern has helped the Lions achieve double-digit win totals in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history.
First-Team All-AMCC Selections
Casey Hess, No. 1 singles: Hess compiled a 10-4 overall record in No. 1 singles matches this season, including going 4-1 there against AMCC opponents with wins coming against Mount Aloysius College, Penn State Behrend, and Pitt-Greensburg twice. He finished the season third on the Lions in overall singles wins (11) and tied for second in AMCC singles wins (5).
Andrew Chronister, No. 2 singles: Chronister went 14-1 overall in No. 2 singles play, including putting together a 4-1 record against AMCC opposition, including wins over Mount Aloysius, Penn State Behrend, and Pitt-Greensburg twice. He led Penn State Altoona in overall singles wins (15) and tied for second in AMCC singles wins (5).
Nick Beard, No. 3 singles: Beard played all of his singles matches in the No. 3 position this season, where he went 12-3 overall to tally the second-most overall singles wins on Penn State Altoona. He was also the only Lion this season to win all six of his AMCC singles matches, putting together a perfect 6-0 record by sweeping conference opponents Pitt-Greensburg, Mount Aloysius, and Penn State Behrend.
Kadyn Carey, No. 4 singles: Carey compiled a 6-3 overall record in No. 4 singles matches this season, including a spotless 5-0 mark against AMCC foes. He defeated opponents from conference schools Pitt-Greensburg twice, Mount Aloysius twice, and Penn State Behrend once, tying for the second-most AMCC singles wins (5) on his team.
Nick Beard/Kadyn Carey, No. 2 doubles: Beard and Carey combined for a 10-4 overall record together in No. 2 doubles matches, including a 4-1 mark in the AMCC. The pair recorded wins over conference opponents from Pitt-Greensburg twice and Mount Aloysius twice, tying for the most doubles wins (4) of any twosome on the Lions this season.
Wilhelm Grot/Emmett Hibbs, No. 3 doubles: Grot and Hibbs went 7-5 together overall this season in the No. 3 doubles position, including compiling a 3-1 mark against AMCC teams. The duo defeated conference opponents from Pitt-Greensburg, Mount Aloysius, and Penn State Behrend and finished with the second-most AMCC doubles wins (3) together on their team.
Second-Team All-AMCC Selections
Emmett Hibbs, No. 5 singles: Hibbs posted a 6-2 overall record when playing in the No. 5 singles position, including going 4-1 there in the AMCC to total the third-most conference singles wins (4) on his team. Hibbs combined for his four conference wins by sweeping league opponents from Mount Aloysius and Pitt-Greensburg. He finished the season with nine overall singles wins across three different positions.
Jackson Newell, No. 6 singles: Newell went 5-4 overall in No. 6 singles matches this season, which included a 4-1 mark against AMCC opposition. His four AMCC singles wins at No. 6 came against Pitt-Greensburg twice and Mount Aloysius twice. Overall while splitting time between the No. 5 and 6 singles positions, Newell totaled 10 overall singles wins, the fourth-most on his team, and five AMCC singles wins, tied for second-most.
Casey Hess/Andrew Chronister, No. 1 doubles: Hess and Chronister played all of their doubles matches together at the No. 1 position, where they compiled a 13-2 overall record that included a 4-1 mark in the AMCC. The duo finished with the most overall wins (13) and tied for the most AMCC wins (4) of any doubles pair on the Lions. Hess and Chronister posted victories over Pitt-Greensburg twice and Mount Aloysius twice.
