SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Tuesday the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) unveiled its men's tennis postseason awards, and the Yellowjackets featured eight student-athletes that received first or second team all-conference honors.
Igor Guetten Chaves (Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil/Colégio Adventista) was named the league's player of the year for the second time in his career, while head coach
CeeJay Schaffner was named the circuit's coach of the year.
Joining Guetten Chaves on the All-UMAC First Team was
Mateo Abarca Pino (Riobamba, Ecuador/El Despertar),
Brandon Chu (Rogers, Minn./Rogers) and
Sharan Kanugovi (Bangalore, Karnataka/New Baldwin International School). The league's second team consists of
Yash Chhabra (Jaipur, Rajasthan/Sanskar School) and
Vitor Sakakibara (São Paulo, Brazil/Colégio Saber), while the honorable mention citations were bestowed upon
Blake Haugen (Fairmont, Minn./Fairmont) and
Marcos Labella Parrilla (Malaga, Spain/IES Emilio Prados).
Haugen also represented the 'Jackets on the All-UMAC Sportsmanship Team.
Guetten Chaves receives the league's player of the year honors for the second time in his collegiate career. In singles play he played all matches in the No. 1 position, going 9-9 while facing a slew of both regional and national opponents. In UMAC play he boasted a singles record of 3-0 while posting a doubles mark of 12-7 with four different partners, including a 5-1 mark in the first position.
Abarca Pino garnered his first All-UMAC selection in his junior season. Throughout the 2024-25 campaign he had a singles record of 9-13, which included a 4-0 streak in league play and a big 6-1, 6-0 victory over Bethany Lutheran in the No. 1 position. Doubles action saw him go 6-10 while collecting a 3-0 mark against UMAC competition, featuring a 6-2 win versus Crown at the top spot.
Chu claims his first postseason award as a Yellowjacket. His sophomore season featured a 10-11 singles record, adding a four-match winning streak versus conference opponents. In doubles action he ended the season with an overall record of 10-12, boasting a pair of four-match winning streaks from Feb. 16-Mar. 13 and Apr. 12-25.
Kanugovi logs his first All-UMAC First Team honor after receiving a spot on the league's second team last season. In 2024-25 he had a 9-11 overall record in singles play across the first and second positions while going undefeated in conference play. In doubles competition he emerged victorious against the tandems from Martin Luther (6-1) and Northwestern (6-2) alongside Abarca Pino and Chhabra, respectively.
Chhabra earns another All-UMAC Second Team honor to his resume. Overall he was 8-12 in singles play, collecting a pair of victories in the No. 2 position while adding six more at the third spot. In league play he won his lone singles match versus Northwestern 6-4, 6-2, while adding five doubles victories alongside Kanugovi.
Sakakibara's junior season resulted in a spot on the league's second team. His singles record against conference opponents was a perfect 2-0, collecting wins at both the Nos. 2 and 5 positions. His overall record in doubles action ended at 11-6, joining forces with Guetten Chaves for all 11 victories at both the first and second position.
In his first season as a Yellowjacket, Haugen earned an honorable mention citation. His singles record came in at 4-5, including a three-match winning streak against UMAC teams. Haugen's doubles record in conference play stands at a perfect 4-0 after teaming with Chu for all matches. The duo ended the year at .500 with an 8-8 mark.
Labella Parrilla's debut season saw him land a spot on the league's honorable mention list. He won both of his conference singles matches, including a 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 1-0 (10-6) battle against Crown before taking down Martin Luther 6-3, 6-4 later that day. His doubles record ended at 2-1, claiming wins against the Polars and Bethany Lutheran by scores of 6-0 and 6-1, respectively.
The Yellowjackets captured the program's fourth consecutive UMAC regular season championship in 2024-25 before falling to Principia in the postseason tournament.
