BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – UVa-Wise men's tennis senior Vladyslav Akimenko, senior Oleg Kopychenko and sophomore Andrii Rutnytskyi have all been named All-Mountain East Conference, the league office announced Thursday afternoon. Akimenko earned All-MEC First Team honors, while Kopychenko and Rutnytskyi were each named All-MEC Second Team.
 
It is the third all-conference honor Akimenko has earned during his career at UVa-Wise, the senior was named All-MEC First Team in 2014 and All-Mid-South Conference honorable mention in 2013. For the second-consecutive year Rutnytskyi has claimed second-team honors after being named MEC Freshman of the Year in 2015.
 
A native of Donetsk, Ukraine, Akimenko went 7-5 overall this spring at No. 1 singles and completed MEC play with a 4-3 league mark. Akimenko teamed with Rutnytskyi for an 8-4 record in dual matches at the top doubles spot. The Duo went 5-2 in conference matches and knocked off the No. 1 doubles team of regionally-ranked and MEC regular-season champion West Virginia Wesleyan back on March 5 in Wise. Akimenko and Rutnytskyi earned the 8-5 win over the Bobcats' Nathan Sabate and Ferran Berga, who are currently ranked ninth in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Atlantic Region.
 
The righty has won six of his last seven singles and doubles matches, including four out of five MEC matches. His lone loss in singles during that stretch came against West Liberty's Baptiste Perrin, who is the seventh-ranked singles player in the ITA Atlantic Region.
 
Kopychenko, a native of Simferopol, Ukraine, finished the regular season with a 9-9 overall singles record that included a 7-5 mark at No. 3 singles. The senior went 4-3 in MEC singles matches and won a total of six doubles matches this season. Teaming with sophomore Noah Aldridge (Pennington Gap, Va.) at second doubles for the last four matches, the tandem has gone 2-2 and is on a two-match win streak. Kopychenko has won four out of his last five singles matches with his lone loss coming against West Liberty's Andrew Ponder, who is ranked 18th in the ITA Atlantic Region.
 
Rutnytskyi has also posted a 9-9 overall singles record this season, including a 3-3 mark at the top spot and a 6-6 record at No. 2 singles. The Odessa, Ukraine, native went 3-4 in MEC singles matches and has won five of his last seven singles contests. In doubles, Rutnytskyi was 11-7 overall at the No. 1 position and teamed with Akimenko to go 8-4 this spring. Rutnytskyi and Akimenko finished league play with a 5-2 No. 1 doubles mark that included a win over MEC regular-season champion West Virginia Wesleyan's regionally-ranked doubles duo of Sabate and Berga. The sophomore has won six of his last seven doubles matches, including four out of five conference matches.
 
Akimenko, Kopychenko and Rutnytskyi helped lead the Cavaliers (10-8, 4-3 MEC) to their most wins in a single season in over 10 years and a No. 4 seed in this weekend's MEC tournament.
 
UVa-Wise faces fifth-seeded Fairmont State University Friday at 11 a.m. in the first round of the 2016 MEC Men's Tennis Tournament. The championship tournament is being held in Charleston, West Virginia, at the Schoenbaum Tennis Courts. Should rain occur Friday morning, the first-round match will take place indoors across the street from the outdoor courts.
 
If UVa-Wise defeats Fairmont State Friday, the Cavs will take on top-seeded West Virginia Wesleyan Saturday at 11 a.m.
 
Please visit mountaineast.org for complete tournament information or click on the "Tournament Central" link at the top of the page.
 
Visit uvawisecavs.com for all Cavalier men's tennis news, statistics, complete schedule and more.
 

2015-16 All-MEC First Team
Name	School	Cl.	Hometown
Vlad Akimenko	UVa-Wise	Sr.	Donetsk, Ukraine
Alec Foote	Charleston	Jr.	Manchester, England
James Gammell	Charleston	Sr.	Chesham, England
Santiago Gutierrez	West Liberty	Jr.	Barranquilla, Colombia
Micah Hornack	Fairmont State	Sr.	Morgantown, W.Va.
Baptiste Perrin	West Liberty	Jr.	Rognes, France
Jacobo Rendon	W.Va. Wesleyan	So.	Guayaquil, Ecuador
Ramon Rodriguez	W.Va. Wesleyan	So.	Porlamar, Venezuela
Nathan Sabate	W.Va. Wesleyan	Jr.	Lleida, Spain
2015-16 All-MEC Second Team
Name	School	Cl.	Hometown
Ferran Berga	W.Va. Wesleyan	So.	Barcelona, Spain
Grant Davis	Shepherd	Jr.	Harpers Ferry, W.Va.
Oleg Kopychenko	UVa-Wise	Sr.	Simferopol, Ukraine
Martin Moncayo	West Liberty	Sr.	Quito, Ecuador
Andrew Ponder	West Liberty	Jr.	Lincoln, England
Ivan Rajevac	Charleston	Fr.	Dubrovnik, Croatia
Andrii Rutnytskyi	UVa-Wise	So.	Odessa, Ukraine
Player of the Year: Alec Foote (Charleston)
Freshman of the Year: Ivan Rajevac (Charleston)
Coach of the Year: Kyle Hoffman (Fairmont State)