Tennis Honors Announced at Regional Banquet
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The All-Florida Sun Conference and All-NAIA Region XIV teams for men’s and women’s tennis were announced at the Region XIV tournament banquet hosted by Embry-Riddle at the Sunset Harbor Yacht Club on Thursday evening.
Embry-Riddle earned top honors on the men’s side as senior Mislav Hizak earned Player of the Year honors for the third year in a row. The senior went undefeated in singles dual match play and was 3-0 in the FSC.
Natasa Zoricic was named the women’s tennis player of the year in her first season at ERAU. A sophomore, Zoricic also posted a 3-0 league record and closed out the regular season at 16-7 overall.
Embry-Riddle men’s coach David Paschal and SCAD women’s coach Chuck Keenan received Coach of the Year honors. Paschal led the Embry-Riddle men to the program’s sixth consecutive conference title with a 5-0 league record. The Eagles are currently 14-2 and are ranked third according to the latest NAIA National poll.
Keenan’s women’s team also repeated as conference champions, posting a perfect 5-0 league record. This marks the third time that Keenan has garnered Coach of the Year honors with the Bees who are ranked eighth nationally and are 9-5 overall.
The regional tournament gets underway on Friday at Embry-Riddle’s Crotty Tennis Complex. SCAD will face Webber International in both men’s and women’s action with the women getting underway at 9 a.m. followed by the men at 11 a.m.
Afternoon competition features the Embry-Riddle women against Northwood at 2 p.m. and the Embry-Riddle men against St. Thomas at 4:30 p.m. The tournament champions receive automatic bids to the NAIA National Championships in Mobile, Ala., May 12-16.
All-FSC Women’s Tennis Team
Irina Pljusznyin - Savannah College of Art & Design
Romina Mrochen - Savannah College of Art & Design
Hillary Collins - Savannah College of Art & Design
Charlotte Alriksson - Webber International
Hana Im - Embry-Riddle
Natalie Anaya - Embry-Riddle
Women's Player of the Year
Natasa Zoricic - Embry-Riddle
Women's Coach of the Year
Chuck Keenan - Savannah College of Art & Design
All-FSC Men’s Tennis Team
Jan Menzen - Savannah College of Art & Design
Ofir Weintraub - Savannah College of Art & Design
Rafael Teixeira - Webber International
Konstantin Lazarov - Embry-Riddle
Carlos Bes - Embry-Riddle
Jan Hoekzema - Embry-Riddle
Men's Player of the Year
Mislav Hizak -Embry-Riddle
Men's Coach of the Year
Dave Paschal -Embry-Riddle