Rochester's Nick Aney named Male Athlete of the Year at Gustavus Adolphus
Sep. 19—ROCHESTER — Rochester's Nick Aney has been named the Male Athlete of the Year at Gustavus Adolphus College for the 2022-23 school year.
Aney excelled as a member of the Gustavus men's tennis team and he had a banner year on the court and in the classroom, graduating with a 3.99 grade-point average in biochemistry. He was a recipient of the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship earlier this summer.
During 2022-23, Aney also earned his third consecutive Academic All-America honor and became the first male from Gustavus to be named Academic All-American of the Year.
On the tennis court, he earned his third All-America honor after reaching the quarterfinals of the 2023 NCAA Division III doubles championships. He finished his career with a 48-38 record in singles play and 71-35 in doubles. He helped the Gusties win conference championships in both the regular season and MIAC playoffs in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023, and capped his senior season by clinching the match point in an upset win over defending national champion Chicago to go to the Elite Eight.
In the final 2023 ITA Division III rankings, Aney was ranked No. 28 in singles while he and partner Daniel Fouchier were ranked No. 16 in the nation in doubles.
Beyond athletics, Aney has volunteered at Good Samaritan Dental Clinic and Channel One Food Bank in Rochester. He has been a leading participant in the Gusties' Big Partner/Little Partner program. He also co-founded the Gustavus Pre-Dental Club and served as a first-term seminar peer mentor and academic leader in guiding first-year students to help ease the transition to college.
"This is a great honor for Nick and our team," Gustavus men's tennis coach Tommy Valentini said. "He had a tremendously impactful career in our program and in the Gustavus community, and he had a remarkable '22-'23 season in every way."
Aney was also part of the men's tennis team that was honored as the Gustavus Team of the Year.
The men's tennis team earned its 34th consecutive MIAC regular season championship and 51st in program history, including a 12th consecutive MIAC playoff championship. The Gusties earned an NCAA tournament for the 35th time.
Gustavus advanced to the Elite Eight in the team national tournament before falling. The Gusties posted six wins over nationally ranked opponents.
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Rochester's Clara Billings was a key player for the Gustavus Adolphus women's hockey team that was selected as the Gusties' Women's Team of the Year.
Gustavus won the NCAA Division III national championship in 2023 after finishing as the runner-up in 2022.
The Gusties played in the longest title game in D-III history, defeating Amherst 2-1 in triple overtime. Billings, a Lourdes grad, collected an assist on the goal that won the national championship.
Billings finished her senior season with 19 points on 11 goals and eight assists. She had seven goals and 12 assists as a junior. Billings has 27 career goals and still has one year of eligibility remaining due to a five-game COVID-shortened season her sophomore campaign.
The Gusties finished their championship season with a 27-3-0 record, including 17-1-0 in MIAC play.
Guy N. Limbeck is a sports writer for the Post Bulletin. His Local Notebook appears each Tuesday. He can be reached at
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