TEMPE, Ariz. – Cleveland State men's tennis senior Nico Mostardi was honored by the ITA on Monday (May 18), as he was named the ITA Midwest Region Most Improved Senior.
Despite the shortened season, the ITA recognized the hard work on and off the court announcing their annual regional awards Monday, including the Most Improved Senior award, which is given to the player who shows the most improvement over a four-year period.
"I'm really happy to see Nico get this award, and be acknowledged by his peers and the ITA for all of his hard work that he has put in over the last four years," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "Nico has consistently improved every year that he has been at Cleveland State, and he and his teammates were in the midst of a great season, with a chance to be a really special team this year."
Earlier this spring, Mostardi finished the shortened campaign ranked 93rd nationally, marking the second straight year that he appeared in the Oracle ITA National Singles Rankings. After becoming the first Viking to earn a national singles ranking as a junior following the 2018 fall campaign, Mostardi was able to spend eight weeks – the entire spring season – in the top-100 this year.
As a junior and senior, Mostardi represented Cleveland State at multiple national tournaments, earning back-to-back appearances at the Oracle ITA Masters and ITA All-American Championship, while he also earned a Wildcard Qualifier into the ITA National Fall Championship back in November.
As a two-time Horizon League Player of the Year and three-time All-League honoree, Mostardi led the Vikings to back-to-back Horizon League Titles as a sophomore and junior, while Cleveland State was poised to make it three straight #HLMTEN trophies this year.
Mostardi, who was on pace to record his third straight 20-win campaign, finished the year ranked fourth on the CSU Singles Wins List with 84 career wins. He also finished the shortened season ranked eighth on the CSU Doubles Wins List with 66 career victories as one of just seven Vikings all-time to post 80+ singles wins and 60+ doubles wins.
All 11 regional honorees are now eligible to become the ITA National Most Improved Senior, which will be announced next Monday (May 25).