web Charlotte

May 12, 2009

Philadelphia, Pa. - Charlotte 49ers tri-captain Moritz Bernhoerster was selected to the Men's Tennis first-team All-Atlantic 10 Conference squad, while teammate Michael Anders was named to the second team in voting conducted among the league's head coaches. Senior Brad Clinard was named to the academic all-league squad in a separate vote by the league's sports information directors.

Bernhoerster's older brother, Felix, who was an assistant coach for the men's team this season, was a second-team all-league selection last season, making the pair the first pair of brothers named all-conference in Charlotte men's tennis history. Anders was a first-team selection, and Clinard was also on the academic all-league squad last season.

Bernhoerster finished with a team-best 22 singles wins for Charlotte (22-13). He was 10-6 as Charlotte's number-one singles performer. He was 11-9 with three different doubles partners. Anders finished the season 16-16 in singles play. He and junior partner Mirza Beciragic had a team-high 12 doubles wins together this spring.

For the second consecutive year, Xavier's Doug Matthews has been tabbed the Atlantic 10's men's tennis Most Outstanding Performer.

Ugur Atalay of George Washington was named Most Outstanding Rookie Performer and Xavier head coach Eric Toth garnered Coach of the Year distinction. Sophomore Mikhail Sudakov of St. Bonaventure was selected as the Student-Athlete of the Year.

At first singles and doubles, Matthews helped lead the Musketeers to its second consecutive A-10 crown Apr. 24-26 at the Club 4 Life in Monroeville, Pa. Named to the All-Conference first-team for the fourth time, the senior from Maineville, Ohio, teamed with junior Chris Herrlinger to go 2-0 in doubles action at the Championship with wins over Saint Louis (8-6) and St. Bonaventure (8-4). In singles competition, Matthews earned a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Ken Nordheim as XU edged the Billikens in the semifinals, 4-3.

A native of Istanbul, Turkey, Atalay earns Most Outstanding Rookie honors after winning all three of his singles matches at the A-10 Championship from the No. 2 flight, including a 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory over James McArthur of Saint Louis in the third-place contest. Atalay is the second GW standout in as many years to be tabbed the league's Most Outstanding Rookie as Yan Levinski earned the distinction a year ago.

Joining Atalay and Matthews on the All-Conference first-team are Charlotte's Bernhoerster; Dayton's Michael Rohana; George Washington's Yan Levinski; Jonathan Luce and Chris Post of St. Bonaventure; James McArthur and Ken Nordheim of Saint Louis; Temple's Filip Rams and Dmitry Vizunov; and Ra'ees Ismail of Xavier. Ismail is making his third consecutive appearance on the first-team, while Levinski and Rohana are repeat All-Conference first-team selections.

The All-Conference second-team consists of Charlotte's Anders; Mark Maciuch, Jeremy McClelland and Zachary Skorupka of Duquesne; George Washington's Erik Hannah and Chris Kushma; Leo Mochizuki, Mikhail Sudakov and Diego Valdenegro of St. Bonaventure; Jake Hendrie of Saint Louis; and Xavier's Bobby Deye and Chris Herrlinger.

A resident of Stupino, Moscow Region, Russia, Sudakov garners men's tennis Student-Athlete of the Year honors after posting a record of 18-7 in singles action and 17-5 in doubles play. A member of the Commissioner's Honor Roll and the St. Bonaventure Dean's List, Sudakov maintains a 3.96 grade point average while majoring in accounting.

Joining Sudakov on the Academic All-Conference team are Charlotte's Clinard \; George Washington's Yan Levinski; Phil Bayliss of Saint Joseph's; Adam Reeb of Saint Louis; and Temple's Nathan Spunda.

Toth earns his second A-10 Coach of the Year honor in as many seasons after second-seeded Xavier defended its league title with wins over Duquesne (4-0), Saint Louis (4-3) and St. Bonaventure (4-0). After serving as an assistant coach at Xavier for 10 seasons, Toth has guided the Musketeers to its first-ever A-10 titles and subsequent NCAA berths in his two seasons as head coach.