 Senoir Lauren Hartley posted the best record in singles and doubles play for Newberry in 2008 |
2008 SAC Tennis Awards announcedHartley named 1st team All-SAC April 18, 2008 ROCK HILL, SC - The 2008 South Atlantic Conference Tennis awards were announced Thursday, and Newberry College had three players earn All-SAC honors. Senior Lauren Hartley (Beamsville, Ontario, Canada) was named to the All-SAC 1st Team on the women's side, while junior Felipe Sobrinho (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and sophomore Lucas Mattos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) were named 2nd team All-SAC performers on the men's side. Hartley, who last season was a 2nd team selection, went 12-4 in singles play in 2008, and won 6 of 7 SAC matches, all from either the No. 1 or No. 2 spots. She also went 8-8 in doubles play with three different partners, and won 6 of 7 SAC matches. "Lauren is very deserving of this honor," said Newberry coach Juan Pablo Favero. "She's been our most consistent player all season. Lauren is a great ambassador not only for our tennis program, but for Newberry College as a whole." Mattos is currently 12-3 from his No. 4 singles spot and has a 12 match unbeaten streak. He also has posted a 10-6 doubles record with partners Maxim Sukharev and Daryl Van Vuuren, including a 5-2 mark in SAC matches. Sobrinho is 10-5 from his No. 5 singles spot, and finished 5-1 in SAC action. Along with partner Mikael Jurkovic, Sobrinho has formed Newberry's best doubles pair, having posted an 11-4 mark, 6-1 in SAC play. "Felipe and Lucas have had great success all season long," Favero praised. "The back end of our line-up is as good as any in the SAC and these guys are the biggest reasons why. They have scored crucial points for us all season long." Tusculum College's Carlos Garcia, who went 15-1 during the regular season and went undefeated in conference play, was named the South Atlantic Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Year, while Carson-Newman College's Amanda Bartlett, and Lincoln Memorial University's Kathleen Rollet were named co-Players of the Year in women's tennis. The awards were presented Friday during the semifinals of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tennis Tournament, played at the Rock Hill Tennis Center in Rock Hill, S.C. Garcia, playing at No. 3 singles, was 7-0 in SAC matches, and won his last 12 singles matches heading into the tournament. Bartlett, a sophomore from Powder Springs, Ga., helped lead Carson-Newman to the women's conference championship as her t eam's No. 1 player. Rollet went 14-2 in singles as Lincoln Memorial's No. 1 player, including going undefeated in conference play. Mars Hill College's Koeche Smith (Nassau, Bahamas), who went 12-4 overall and 7-0 in the SAC as the Lions' No. 2 singles player, was named the Men's Freshman of the Year. Carson-Newman's Taryn Cappadonna (Kennesaw, Ga.), the Lady Eagles' No. 2 singles player, was named the Women's Freshman of the Year. Tusculum's Tommy Arnett was named the Men's Coach of the Year and Carson-Newman's Jean Love was named the Women's Coach of the Year. Arnett guided the Pioneers to the league crown and earned Coach the Year honors for the third time in his career. Love guided the Lady Eagles to their first-ever SAC championship and wins the award for the first time. Carson-Newman's Preston Sneed was named Men's Tennis Scholar Athlete, winning the award for the second year in a row. Catawba's Julia McKinzie was named the Women's Tennis Scholar Athlete. Conference champion Tusculum led the way with five men's All-Conference selections. Joining Garcia on the First Team are Sergio Espinosa and Nicolas Bigler. Mars Hill had two First Team All-Conference selections in Smith and John Allen. Carson-Newman had two All-Conference picks. Giuseppe Schwartz was named to the First Team. Catawba's Sean Soltan and Lincoln Memorial's Hannes Ganss round out the men's All-Conference First Team. Wingate had three Second Team All-Conference honorees, while Newberry placed a pair of men on the Second Team. Conference champion Carson-Newman led the way on the women's side with three selections to the All-Conference First Team. Elizabeth Sneed joined Bartlett and Cappadona on the First Team. Tusculum also had three All-Conference selections. Bronwyn Hartley and Jennifer Sparks were selected to the First Team. Rollet, McKinzie and Newberry's Lauren Hartley, round out the women's All-Confere n ce First Team. Catawba and Lincoln Memorial each had an additional All-Conference selection to the Second Team. Mars Hill had two Second Team All-Conference picks and Wingate placed one on the Second Team. The South Atlantic Conference All-Conference Teams are selected by the head coaches in the league. Sneed has a 3.83 GPA with a double major in Spanish and financial economics. He is Carson-Newman's number three player and plays number one doubles. He is a member of Alpha Chi honor society and has served for two years as president of Sigma Delta Pi, Carson-Newman's Spanish honor society. He was an ESPN The Magazine Third Team Academic All-American in 2007. Sneed is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa and Students in Free Enterprise, a pair of academic and service clubs. He helps lead 757 Ministry, a group that worked to raise $30,000 last year for a well to be built in Africa. He also volunteers at Junior Achievement, where he tutors school c h ildren. McKinzie is a four-time All-Conference selection and holds the school record for career doubles wins. She ranks fourth in school history with 44 singles wins. She has a 3.8 GPA as a biology major and is in the Alpha Chi and Phi Epsilon honor societies, as well as the Beta Beta Beta national biology honor society. She volunteers in the labor and delivery ward at Rowan Regional Medical Center and has participated in Operation Christmas Child and the United Methodist Action Reachout program. 2008 SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE TENNIS AWARD WINNERS MEN'S FIRST TEAM MEN'S SECOND TEAM COACH OF THE YEAR - Tommy Arnett, Tusculum FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR - Koeche Smith, Mars Hill PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Carlos Garcia, Tusculum SAC SCHOLAR ATHLETE - Preston Sneed, Carson-Newman WOMEN'S FIRST TEAM WOMEN'S SECOND TEAM COACH OF THE YEAR - Jean Love, Carson-Newman FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR - Taryn Cappadonna, Carson-Newman Co-PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Amanda Bartlett, Carson-Newman SAC SCHOLAR ATHLETE - Julia McKinzie, Catawba SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE SENIOR AWARDS Carson-Newman Catawba Lincoln Memorial Mars Hill Newberry Tusculum |
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