April 18, 2008

CINCINNATI - Junior men's tennis player Doug Matthews was named the Atlantic 10's Most Outstanding Player and head coach Eric Toth was awarded Coach of the Year honors as announced by the conference office April 17. Matthews, along with junior Ra'ees Ismail and sophomore Chris Herrlinger, was also named to the A-10 All-Conference First-Team and senior Brian Schubert and sophomore J.T. Torbeck earned Second-Team honors.

"It feels great to win this award," commented Doug Matthews, "especially after the was the season started with me missing the first five matches due to injury. Then for me to beat Mustafa [Gencsoy] in the finals of the A-10 Chmpionship was great, especially since I had lost to him the first three times we had played. I am looking forward to the NCAA Tournament and hope to represent the A-10 well."

This is the third consecutive All-Conference honor for Matthews and he was also named the league's Most Outstanding Rookie Performer two years ago. This is Ismail's second consecutive appearance on the A-10's First-Team in addition to being named to the A-10 Academic All-Conference Team this season, an honor he also earned last year. 

This is Torbeck's second stint on the All-Conference Second-Team, as he earned the same honor a year ago. Schubert and Herrlinger are making their first appearance on the A-10 All-Conference Teams.

The Musketeers (16-8, 6-1) won their first-ever Atlantic 10 Championship on April 6 by sweeping No. 1-seed George Washington, 4-0. The team also earned its first-ever bid to the team NCAA Tournament with the tournament title. Xavier will find out who it will face and where it will play on April 29 during the NCAA Tournament pairings announcement on ESPNews beginning at 2:00 p.m.

2008 ATLANTIC 10 MEN'S TENNIS ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

First-Team School Cl. Hometown/Previous School
Felipe Acosta Saint Louis Sr. Bogota, Colombia/Colegio Andino
Michael Anders Charlotte Fr. Pensacola, Fla./B.T. Washington
Mustafa Gencsoy George Washington Sr. Istanbul, Turkey/Ayazaga Isik
Erik Hannah George Washington Fr. Bradenton, Fla./Bradenton Academy
Chris Herrlinger Xavier So. Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati County Day
Ra'ees Ismail Xavier Jr. Maineville, Ohio/Kings HS
Victor Lecina St. Bonaventure Jr. Barcelona, Spain/Stucom Centre D'Estudis
Yan Levinski George Washington Fr. Melbourne, Australia/Brighton Grammar School
Alex Mast Duquesne Jr. Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley
Doug Matthews Xavier Jr. Maineville, Ohio/Kings HS
Michael Ortega Duquesne Sr. Guaynabo, Puerto Rice/Colegio San Ignacio
Michael Rohona Dayton So. Fishers, Ind./Cathedral HS

Second-Team School Cl. Hometown/Previous School
Pat Adams Saint Joseph's Jr. Altadena, Calif./La Salle (Calif.)
Felix Bernhoerster Charlotte Sr. Dusseldorf, Germany/Yokohama International
P.J. Hendrie Saint Louis So. New Braunfels, Texas/New Braunfels
Jon Luce St. Bonaventure Jr. Bemus Point, N.Y./Maple Grove
Jeremy McClelland Duquesne So. Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park
Sean McManus Saint Louis Jr. Berryton, Kan./Hayden
Leo Mochiznki St. Bonaventure Jr. Madrid, Spain/King's
James O'Connell Dayton Sr. Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis de Sales
Sam Salyer George Washington Sr. Minneapolis, Minn./St. Paul Academy
Brian Schubert Xavier Sr. Highland, Mich./Milford
J.T. Torbeck Xavier So. Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier
Diego Valdenegro St. Bonaventure So. Santiago, Chile/Subercaseaux College

Most Outstanding Performer - Doug Matthews, Xavier
Most Outstanding Rookie Performer - Yan Levinski, George Washington
Coach of The Year - Eric Toth, Xavier

2008 ATLANTIC 10 MEN'S TENNIS ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Name School Cl. Hometown/Previous School Major
Chris Butera La Salle Jr. Mason, Ohio/Mason HS Accounting
Brad Clinard Charlotte Jr. High Point, N.C./GTCC Middle College Economics
Ra'ees Ismail Xavier Jr. Maineville, Ohio/Kings HS Chemistry
Mark Maciuch Duquesne So. Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy Business
Adam Reeb Saint Louis Jr. Belleville, Ill./Althoff CatholicBelleville, Ill. Business Administration
Sam Salyer George Washington Sr. Minneapolis, Minn./St. Paul Academy American Studies

Student-Athlete of the Year - Sam Salyer, George Washington