April 17, 2008

2008 A-10 All-Conference Team

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - After leading Xavier to its first-ever Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Championship, junior Doug Matthews has been named the A-10 men's tennis Most Outstanding Performer in voting conducted among the Conference's head coaches following the Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Championship.

In that same vote, Yan Levinski of George Washington was named Most Outstanding Rookie Performer and Xavier head coach Eric Toth was tabbed as Coach of the Year. Senior Sam Salyer of George Washington was selected as the Student-Athlete of the Year in a separate vote of the Conference's sports information directors.

At first singles and doubles, Matthews helped lead the Musketeers to a first-place Conference finish on Apr. 4-6 at Club 4 Life in Monroeville, Pa. Matthews, who hails from Maineville, Ohio, did not lose a singles match throughout the Championship, earning a victory over Felipe Acosta of Saint Louis (6-0, 6-1) before clinching the title against George Washington's Mustafa Gencsoy (6-4, 3-6, 6-4). His singles match against Charlotte's Felix Bernhoerster was not played to a finish. Matthews also teamed with sophomore Chris Herringer to go 3-0 at first doubles, defeating Saint Louis (8-4) and Charlotte (9-7), before securing a crucial doubles point against George Washington (8-6) in the championship match.

Levinksi, a freshman from Melbourne, Australia, garnered Most Outstanding Rookie honors after winning all three of his doubles matches paired with teammate Salyer. The duo posted second flight wins against Rhode Island (8-2), St. Bonaventure (8-3) and Xavier (8-6). In singles, Levinski held a lead in his first two matches against No. 2 opponents from URI and SBU, but did not finish either match.

Joining Levinski and Matthews on the All-Conference first-team are Michael Anders of Charlotte; Dayton's Michael Rohona; Alex Mast and Michael Ortega of Duquesne; George Washington's Mustafa Gencsoy and Erik Hannah; Victor Lecina of St. Bonaventure; Saint Louis' Felipe Acosta; and Chris Herrlinger and Ra'ees Ismail of Xavier. Gencsoy is on the A-10 All-Conference first-team for the fourth straight year, while Matthews is honored for the third year in a row and Ismail and Ortega are making their second appearances.


The All-Conference second-team consists of Felix Bernhoerster of Charlotte; Dayton's James O'Connell; Jeremy McClelland of Duquesne; George Washington's Sam Salyer; Leo Mochiznki, Jon Luce, and Diego Valdenegro of St. Bonaventure; Pat Adams from Saint Joseph's ; P.J. Hendrie and Sean McManus of Saint Louis; and Xavier's J.T. Torbeck and Brian Schubert.

Salyer, a senior from Minneapolis, Minn., was named the Student-Athlete of the Year after finishing the season with a 16-13 overall singles mark, which included three doubles wins and one singles victory from the third flight in the A-10 Championship. The American studies major won 10 of his final 16 matches of the season.

Joining Salyer on the Academic All-Conference team are All-Conference honorees Chris Butera of La Salle; Charlotte's Brad Clinard; Ra'ees Ismail of Xavier; and Duquesne's Mark Maciuch and Adam Reeb of Saint Louis. It marks the third straight year that Salyer has been selected to the Academic All-Conference team, while Ismail and Reeb earn honors for the second time.

Toth was named Coach of the Year after guiding Xavier to its first-ever A-10 men's tennis title and a subsequent automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Entering the Championship as the second seed, the Musketeers captured three 4-0 victories, starting with Saint Louis, then Charlotte and finally top-seeded George Washington en route to the title. It was just Toth's first season as head coach for Xavier after 10 seasons as an assistant.