MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES MEN'S TENNIS AWARDS
For Immediate Release-Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Cleveland, Ohio - The Mid-American Conference (MAC) announced the 2010 Men's Tennis Awards today. Tournament champion Western Michigan placed two first-team selections and two additional second-year selections on the heels of winning their fifth consecutive MAC Men's Tennis Championship last weekend.
Western Michigan was the No. 3 seed for the MAC Tournament and posted an 18-10 regular season record, 3-2 in the MAC, as the Broncos defeated No. 6 seed Chicago State, No. 2 seed Ball State and No. 1 seed Buffalo to earn the title of Conference Tournament Champions. Representing Western Michigan was first-team All-MAC selections Michael Calderone and Kazuya Komada and second-team selections Pablo Olivarez and Casey Cullen.
Regular season champion Buffalo placed one first-team selection, Wojciech Starakiewicz, and one second-team selection, Marcelo Mazzetto, in addition to first-year coach Lee Nickell taking home the Coach of the Year award. Buffalo finished the regular season with a 12-6 record, 5-0 MAC, and was the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament, before losing to Western Michigan in the tournament championship.
Ball State placed Eduardo Pavia as a first-team selection and Cliff Morrison as a second-team selection. Pavia, who finished the regular season 18-3 in singles and 12-5 in doubles action, was named the MAC Men's Tennis Player of the Year.
Northern Illinois witnessed Maksym Bartiuk's impact on the Huskies program as Bartiuk was named a first-team selection and was named the 2010 Men's Tennis Newcomer of the Year. Also representing Northern Illinois, Javier Bernabe was named the 2010 Jack Vredevelt Sportsmanship Award winner, an annual award presented to a senior who has displayed outstanding sportsmanship throughout his career.
Toledo placed Aleksandar Elezovic as a first-team All-MAC selection and Knot Likitkumchorn and Sven Burus as second-team selections.
2010 All-MAC
FIRST TEAM
Eduardo Pavia, Ball State, Junior, Carolina, Puerto Rico
Maksym Bartiuk, Northern Illinois, Freshman, Ukraine
Michael Calderone, Western Michigan, Junior, Grass Lake, Mich.
Wojciech Starakiewicz, Buffalo, Sophomore, Warsaw, Poland
Kazuya Komada, Western Michigan, Junior, Osaka, Japan
Aleksandar Elezovic, Toledo, Junior, Belgrade, Serbia
SECOND TEAM:
Marcelo Mazzetto, Buffalo, Junior, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Knot Likitkumchorn, Toledo, Junior, Yala, Thailand
Cliff Morrison, Ball State, Sophomore, South Africa
Sven Burus, Toledo, Junior, Slavonski Brod, Croatia
Pablo Olivarez, Western Michigan, Sophomore, Muntinlupa City, Philippines
Casey Cullen, Western Michigan, Junior, Beverly Hills, Mich.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Lee Nickell, Buffalo
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Maksym Bartiuk, Northern Illinois
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Eduardo Pavia, Ball State
JACK VREDEVELT SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD: Javier Bernabe, Northern Illinois