ALFRED, NY – Five members of the Alfred University men's tennis team were recognized for All-Empire 8 Conference honors, as announced on Tuesday. 
 
André López Jiménez (Mexico City, Mexico / PrepaTec Esmeralda) led Alfred University, being named as the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. López Jiménez put up a historical season in his first-year campaign with the purple and gold, breaking the program record with 37 single-season wins, including the most doubles wins by an individual with 21 victories. Joined by teammate Breece Erickson (Goshen, IN / Bethany Christian), the duo additionally set the record for doubles wins by a pair with 14 victories. Both López Jiménez and Erickson were recognized as members of the All-Empire 8 First Team for doubles. Also a member of the All-Empire 8 First Team for singles, López Jiménez finished the season with a 16-3 overall record in singles action, including an undefeated 8-0 record in conference play.
 
Erickson was additionally honored as a member of the All-Empire 8 First Team for singles. The junior registered a 17-2 overall record in singles play, including a 7-1 record from Empire 8 competition. The 17 wins for Erickson marked the second-highest single-season total in program history. Additionally, Erickson was credited with 34 total wins during the 2025-26 season, trailing only López Jiménez.
 
Following his sophomore season with Alfred University, Ricardo Alvarez Janik (La Orotava, Spain / Colegio Casa Azul) was named to the All-Empire 8 First Team in singles action. Alvarez Janik finished the 2025-26 season with a 9-5 overall record, including posting five wins in Empire 8 competition. Alvarez Janik was joined by Anlun Zwerver (Koog Aan De Zaan, The Netherlands / Blaise Pascal College) as honorees for First Team in doubles. Together, Alvarez Janik and Zwerver put together an impressive 11 wins from No. 1 doubles, marking the second-highest single-season total in program history.
  
Zwerver was honored as a member of the All-Empire 8 Second Team following his efforts primarily from No. 4 singles. The graduate posted a 15-5 overall record this past season, including 13 wins from the No. 4 position for the Saxons. Across his final 10 matches this past spring, Zwerver was 8-2 overall.
 
Additionally, Matthew Bittel (Wellsville, NY / Wellsville) was selected to the Empire 8 Men's Tennis Tomorrow's Leaders Team. This team honors a student-athlete who has emerged as a leader not only on the court, but in the classroom and in the community. In addition, they "compete with honor and integrity" and have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportsmen.
 
" I am super proud of all these guys," Head Coach Jake Fisler said. "This is a true testament to what they have helped build here at Alfred. These awesome awards are a great representation of how hard this group has worked. It is nice to show the conference what is going on with the tennis program at Alfred and the level of commitment that this team has towards excellence. Let's go!"