Men's Tennis | 5/12/2026 2:00:00 PM
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher University men's tennis team claimed three of the four major Empire 8 Conference awards for the 2026 season, the league office announced Tuesday afternoon.
Junior Tyler Hernandez headlined the list, winning the Empire 8 Player of the Year award for the second time in three collegiate seasons. The Cardinals' tandem of Hernandez and senior Will Chubb earned Doubles Team of the Year honors, while first-year head coach Jason Byam – a 2006 Fisher graduate and member of the university's Athletics Hall of Fame – became the first coach in program history to receive Empire 8 Coach of the Year recognition.
Five Cardinals earned All-Empire 8 honors in singles. Hernandez and freshman Sebastian Dix were selected to the first team, while Chubb, senior Sean Brown and freshman Matthew Lincoln secured second-team accolades.
In doubles, Hernandez and Chubb were named to the first team, and the pairing of Dix and Lincoln earned second-team honors.
Chubb added to his haul of honors as St. John Fisher's representative on the Empire 8 Tomorrow's Leader Team. The Tomorrow's Leaders Team recognizes one student-athlete from each Empire 8 institution who has demonstrated leadership in competition, in the classroom, and in the community.
Hernandez, a three-time All-Empire 8 first-team selection, posted an 11-4 record in first singles this season, including a 7-1 mark in Empire 8 regular-season action. He was also recently named Most Valuable Player of the Empire 8 Championship Tournament after recording wins over Jaxon Redmond of Norwich in the semifinals and Ricardo Alvarez of Alfred in the championship dual match.
Hernandez and Chubb finished the year with an 8-4 record at first doubles. They posted a 6-1 record against E8 competition during the regular season.
Dix had a strong freshman season for the Cardinals, posting an 11-5 overall record (8-0 Empire 8) in singles competition. He went 10-4 in fourth singles and 1-1 in third singles.
Chubb competed in second singles for the Cardinals and went 6-7 overall. The two-time All-E8 singles honoree was 4-3 in conference action.
Brown entered the Cardinals' lineup at fifth singles on March 28 and went on to produce a 7-0 record. He went 6-0 against E8 competition in the regular season and beat Alfred's Matt Bittel in straight sets in the conference title dual match.
Lincoln finished his freshman season 9-6 overall, including 6-2 in conference regular-season matches. He claimed all nine of his victories in third singles.
Dix and Lincoln won all seven of their matches together in third doubles, with five of those victories coming in Empire 8 play. They won both of their matches in the Empire 8 Tournament.
Byam became the Cardinals' head coach last August and guided the team to a season packed with historic accomplishments. The Cardinals finished 12-4 overall, beat Norwich and Alfred earlier this month to capture the first Empire 8 title in program history and entered their first-ever NCAA Tournament match last week riding a program-record 11-match winning streak. St. John Fisher's 12 wins this season were its most since the 2006 team won a program record 13 matches. Additionally, the Cardinals went undefeated (8-0) in Empire 8 regular-season play for the first time in program history.
