Men's Tennis All-CAA
NORFOLK, Va. (April 19, 2012) - VCU sophomore Alexis Heugas (Jurancon, France) was chosen as the 2012 Colonial Athletic Association men's tennis Player of the Year by a committee of the league's head coaches.
Also earning top honors from the conference were Georgia State freshman Matias Hatem (San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina) as CAA Rookie of the Year, while Georgia State's Chase Hodges and James Madison's Steve Secord were chosen as CAA Co-Coaches of the Year.
Heugas compiled a 13-6 singles record this spring as VCU's top player. The sophomore is ranked #88 nationally in singles by the ITA and has won nine of his last 11 matches. He and partner Antoine Baroz were also 10-6 at No. 1 doubles and the duo is ranked #70 in the nation. Heugas is the ninth different VCU player to earn CAA Player of the Year accolades.
Hatem put together one of the best seasons ever for a Georgia State freshman, compiling a 19-3 record while playing mostly at the No. 2 singles position. At one point this spring, he had a 16-match winning streak. Hatem was also 6-4 with partner Thomas Cook as the Panthers' top doubles team. Hatem is GSU's second Rookie of the Year, joining Mattias Skold in 2007.
Hodges guided Georgia State to a 19-4 record this season with a squad that has three freshmen and a sophomore among its top six players. The Panthers are ranked #55 in the nation and have posted victories over three nationally ranked foes. Secord led James Madison to an 11-9 record this season. The Dukes won seven of their final 10 matches, including three straight to close the regular season. The Coach of the Year honor is the first for Hodges and Secord.
Joining Heugas and Hatem on the All-CAA singles first team were UNCW sophomore Rafael Aita (Lima Peru), Georgia State junior Victor Valente (Sao Paulo, Brazil), VCU junior Max Wennakoski (Helsinki, Finland) and William & Mary junior Jamie Whiteford (Surrey, England).
Three doubles teams received All-CAA first team honors as well. Making the squad were junior Kosta Blank (Kfar Sava, Israel) and junior Chris Cooprider (Denver, Colo.) from UNCW, Heugas and sophomore Antoine Baroz (Geneva, Switzerland) from VCU and Wennakoski and senior Filip Svensson (Angelholm, Sweden) from VCU.
The awards were presented Thursday night prior to the quarterfinals of the 2012 Virginia 529 CAA Men's Tennis Championship, which resumes Friday morning at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center on the campus of Old Dominion University. The tournament runs through Sunday, with the men's championship set for 10 a.m. on April 22.
2012 ALL-CAA MEN'S TENNIS TEAMS
First Team
Singles
Rafael Aita, UNCW So. Lima, Peru
Matias Hatem, Georgia State Fr. San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina
Alexis Heugas, VCU So. Jurancon, France
Victor Valente, Georgia State Jr. Sao Paulo, Brazil
Max Wennakoski, VCU Jr. Helsinki, Finland
Jamie Whiteford, William & Mary Jr. Surrey, England
Doubles
Kosta Blank, UNCW Jr. Kfar Sava, Israel
Chris Cooprider, UNCW Jr. Denver, Colo.
Alexis Heugas, VCU So. Jurancon, France
Antoine Baroz, VCU So. Geneva, Switzerland
Filip Svensson, VCU Sr. Angelholm, Sweden
Max Wennakoski, VCU Jr. Helsinki, Finland
Second Team
Singles
Kosta Blank, UNCW Jr. Kfar Sava, Israel
Thomas Cook, Georgia State So. Lilburn, Ga.
Chris Cooprider, UNC Wilmington Jr. Denver, Colo.
Krzysztof Muzalewski, Old Dominion Sr. Torun, Poland
Filip Svensson, VCU Sr. Angelholm, Sweden
Greg Vladimirsky, James Madison Jr. Coral Springs, Fla.
Doubles
Matias Hatem, Georgia State Fr. San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina
Thomas Cook, Georgia State So. Lilburn, Ga.
Albert Ochagavia, Old Dominion Jr. Lleida, Spain
Carlos Lopez Villa, Old Dominion Fr. Madrid, Spain
Victor Valente, Georgia State Jr. Sao Paulo, Brazil
Juan Pablo Gutierrez, Georgia State Sr. Guayaquil, Ecuador
Third Team
Singles
Alejandro Argente, VCU So. Castellon, Spain
Troy Beneck, Delaware So. Wilmington, Del.
Jordan Dyke, George Mason Jr. Alexandria, Va.
Carlos Lopez Villa, Old Dominion Fr. Madrid, Spain
Badr Ouabdelmoumen, Drexel Fr. Rabat, Morocco
Jaime Vazquez, VCU Jr. La Coruna, Spain
Doubles
Troy Beneck, Delaware So. Wilmington, Del.
Adam Lawton, Delaware So. Estepona, Spain
Michael Reilly, UNCW Fr. Raleigh, N.C.
Sam Williams, UNCW Fr. Bristol, England
Bertrand Moulin, James Madison Sr. Lyon, France
Greg Vladimirsky, James Madison Jr. Coral Springs, Fla.
2012 CAA MEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Alexis Heugas, VCU
2012 CAA MEN'S TENNIS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Matias Hatem, Georgia State
2012 CAA MEN'S TENNIS COACHES OF THE YEAR: Chase Hodges, Georgia State & Steve Secord, James Madison