OMAHA, Neb. - The Drake men's tennis team was
well represented when the annual Missouri Valley Conference postseason awards
were announced on Thursday (April 26).
The Bulldogs garnered
Player of the Year accolades for the sixth-consecutive campaign as junior Anis Ghorbel (Sfax,
Tunisia) became the fourth Drake player to earn the award since its inception
in 2007.
Tabbed as the MVC
Coach of the Year for the second-straight season was head coach Evan Austin. He joins Chase Hodges (2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09) as a
multiple winner after earning accolades a season ago.
"I'm honored to be
named coach of the year again, but all the credit goes to the 11 guys on this
team and everyone who assists us on a daily basis," Austin commented. "These guys show up to practice ready
to work everyday and take a great deal of pride in the success of this program.
This award is truly a reflection of our players."
A four-time league
Player of the Week selection, Ghorbel was named an All-MVC first-selection in
singles for the second-straight year after posting a 4-1 conference mark en
route to a 15-4 ledger in the dual campaign. In his first campaign as a Bulldog, he was named to the
All-MVC first team at the No. 4 position.
"Anis has put
together an extremely solid year and his consistency over the past eight months
has made him a very deserving recipient of the Player of the Year award," said
Austin. "I know his main goal is
to follow this up with a team championship this weekend."
Garnering first team
recognition in singles was Ghorbel, along with junior James McKie (Edinburgh, Scotland) and freshman Alen Salibasics (Tuzla,
Bosnia&Herzegovina) at the Nos. 1, 2 and 4 singles slots, respectively. The
trio finished with a 14-1 combined league mark, including perfect 5-0 records
from both McKie and Salibasic.
Being tabbed to the
All-MVC first team for the initial time in singles was McKie and
Salibasic.
McKie has run off 17
consecutive singles victories entering MVC Championship play this weekend, en
route to posting a 26-6 singles mark, including 5-0 in league competition. McKie had previously being honored as
an All-Select team recipient in each of his first two seasons as a
Bulldog.
Salibasic has been
equally impressive netting a 25-7 singles ledger and a 5-0 MVC mark, while
rattling off seven-straight triumphs of his own.
In doubles, Drake
collected first-team accolades at the Nos. 1 and 3 positions. At the top
position, the duo of Ghorbel and McKie was 4-1 in league action and 12-4
overall. Combining to register a 4-1 MVC record and 15-3 on the campaign at No.
3 was junior Jean Erasmus (Windhoek, Namibia) and sophomore Robin Goodman (Cambridge, England).
It marked the
third-straight season McKie has been tabbed to the All-MVC first team, while
Erasmus and Ghorbel garnered the award for the second consecutive campaign.
"Having three singles
players and two doubles teams named all conference is an exciting
accomplishment for our program," Austin explained. "These guys are truly deserving of the all MVC honors."
The top-seeded
Bulldogs (22-2, 5-0 MVC) open play at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference
Championship on Saturday (April 28) in Omaha, Neb., as Drake seeks its sixth
NCAA Tournament bid in school history, battling the winner of the Southern
Illinois/Illinois State contest at 1:00 p.m.
