Sun Conference Men’s Tennis Honor Roll Announced
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Sun Conference announced its men’s tennis All-Conference teams and individual award winners at the conference tournament banquet hosted by Embry-Riddle at the Pelican Bay Country Club on Wednesday. Embry-Riddle won three of the four individual awards as 13 individuals representing six schools were named to the All-Conference roster with seven appearing on the first team and six claiming second team honors. The All-Conference team was determined by a vote of the league’s head coaches.
Coach of the Year honors went to Embry-Riddle head coach Dave Paschal, marking the 10th time in his career that he garnered the award. Paschal led the Eagles to their 10th conference regular season title at 7-0 and they are the top seed in this weekend’s conference tournament. ERAU is ranked No. 1 in the NAIA and owns an 16-3 overall record.
For the second straight season, Embry-Riddle’s Deni Zmak was tabbed as the league’s Player of the Year. A sophomore from Pula, Croatia, Zmak was undefeated in conference play at 7-0 and matched the Eagles’ singles season wins record with a earned a 30-3 overall record, including a perfect 18-0 ledger against NAIA competition. Zmak won the ITA/NAIA national singles title and has been ranked No. 1 in the NAIA all season.
Zmak also comprised half of the league’s Doubles Team of the Year for the second time in as many seasons. Zmak and teammate Simon Felix teamed up to win the ITA/NAIA National doubles title and later went on to register an upset of the NCAA I third-seeded UCLA team at the NCAA I Indoor National Championships. Ranked No. 1 in the national doubles poll, Zmak and Felix posted a 7-0 mark in conference play and bring a 28-4 overall record into the conference tournament.
Simon Felix was voted as the league’s Champions of Character Award winner. A senior from Geneva, Switzerland, Felix has volunteered for a variety of community service projects, including volunteering at the Halifax Humane Society and Habitat for Humanity, bringing food to and spending time with a homeless family as part of the Food Brings Hope initiative, feeding the homeless and helping conduct clinics for local youth tennis programs. In addition, he has a 3.858 cumulative grade point average as and Air Traffic Management major.
“Simon is the best sportsman ever to play for ERAU,” Paschal commented. “Not once in his career has he ever had a problem with an opponent. Simon donates his time to several community service efforts and is an honor roll student and will graduate with honors in Air Traffic Management.”
Student-athletes were also recognized for their achievements in the classroom as 15 Academic All-Conference awards were handed out on Thursday. To qualify for Academic All-Conference honors, a student-athlete must have completed at least two full semesters at the nominating institution and carry a 3.5 or better cumulative grade point average. Northwood junior Jacob Alplund topped the list of academic honorees as he currently holds a 4.0 GPA in International Business.
Play in the 2014 Sun Conference tournament gets underway at 2 p.m. on Thursday when Northwood takes on SCAD Savannah, followed by a Webber International/St. Thomas match-up at 4:30 p.m. After receiving first-round byes as the tournament's top two seeds, Embry-Riddle and Warner take the court on Friday. ERAU will take on the Northwood/SCAD winner at 2 p.m. and Warner will close out the day against the winner of Thursday's second quarterfinal contest.
The tournament is being hosted by Embry-Riddle at the Crotty Tennis complex and the tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship in Mobile, Ala., May 13-17.
Coach of the Year
Dave Paschal, Embry-Riddle
Player of the Year
Deni Zmak, Embry-Riddle
Doubles Team of the Year
Deni Zmak/Simon Felix, Embry-Riddle
Champions of Character Award
Simon Felix, Embry-Riddle
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
|
|
Overall Record |
Conference Record |
|
|
Singles |
Doubles |
Singles |
Doubles |
|
First Team |
|
|
|
|
|
Juan Bravo (St. Thomas) |
10-2 |
4-8 |
5-1 |
2-4 |
|
Simon Felix (Embry-Riddle) |
21-3 |
28-4 |
6-0 |
7-0 |
|
Gelawdiyos Haile (Southeastern) |
10-3 |
10-4 |
3-3 |
3-4 |
|
Niklas Kammer (Webber International) |
11-7 |
10-9 |
5-2 |
4-3 |
|
Julian Ramirez-Luna (Warner) |
8-5 |
11-2 |
5-2 |
5-2 |
|
Jaime Sanchez-Canamares Rios (ERAU) |
11-6 |
15-2 |
5-1 |
7-0 |
|
Deni Zmak (Embry-Riddle) |
30-3 |
28-4 |
7-0 |
7-0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Second Team |
|
|
|
|
|
Patrick Besch (Embry-Riddle) |
14-5 |
15-2 |
6-1 |
7-0 |
|
Patrick Frandji (Warner) |
10-3 |
11-2 |
4-3 |
5-2 |
|
Jonathan Cohen (Webber International) |
11-7 |
9-9 |
3-4 |
5-2 |
|
Daniel Spurny (Ave Maria) |
4-5 |
2-7 |
3-4 |
2-5 |
|
Juan Aranzazu (Warner) |
11-1 |
10-3 |
5-1 |
5-2 |
|
Miguel Lopez Gomez (Embry-Riddle) |
17-8 |
11-6 |
6-1 |
6-1 |
ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE
Jacob Alplund, Northwood
Patrick Besch, Embry-Riddle
Juan Bravo, St. Thomas
Andrew Dickens, Southeastern
Simon Felix, Embry-Riddle
Patrick Frandji, Warner
Patricio Henning, Webber International
Alvaro Iturriaga, Northwood
Robert Laskin, Southeastern
Ariel Listo, St. Thomas
Will May, Southeastern
Diego Ortega, Nothwood
Joshua Rosner, St. Thomas
Juan Verberne, Embry-Riddle
Luke Witte, Southeastern