Greenberg of Williams Honored as Player of the Year

HADLEY, Mass. - Williams senior Dan Greenberg (Chapel Hill, N.C.) has been named the 2008 NESCAC Player of the Year, as determined by the conference coaches. Greenberg helped the Ephs earn a 7-1 conference record this season along with a 15-3 overall mark and a top seed in the 2008 NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament.

Greenberg, the 2005 NESCAC Rookie of the Year, also received NESCAC All-Conference First Team Singles honors for the third consecutive year. Currently one of the top singles players in the country, Greenberg owns a 21-6 record this season, winning eight of his last 10 matches, and came away with the ITA-New England Singles Title along with finishing third at the ITA National Small College Championships this past fall. Greenberg was also recognized as an All-NESCAC Doubles selection for the first time in his career, joining junior partner Bret Thatcher (Studio City, Calif.) on the Second Team. The tandem has combined to go 14-8 so far this year.

Bowdoin senior Garrett Gates (Fairway, Kan.) garnered First Team recognition at singles and doubles for the second year in a row. Gates has had a remarkable final year with the Polar Bears, posting a 27-6 singles record that includes a 16-4 mark this spring. At doubles, Gates, who has earned All-Conference Doubles honors in each of his four years at Bowdoin, teamed up with junior Alex Caughron (San Marino, Calif.), a first time All-NESCAC recipient, throughout the second half of the year. The two combined to win their doubles match in the final of the 2008 NESCAC Men’s Tennis Championship, as Bowdoin took the doubles set 2-1 en route to a 5-4 win over Middlebury for the program’s first NESCAC crown.

Rounding out the returning members from the 2007 First Team at singles was Amherst junior Zack Lerner (Scarsdale, N.Y.). Although Lerner was 11-9 in singles play at the #1 position this season, he closed out the year by winning six of his last seven matches, including a straight-set victory in the first round of the NESCAC Championship that helped lift the Lord Jeffs past the Ephs 5-4 and snap a losing streak dating back to 1995.

Trinity sophomore Spencer Feldman (Upper Brookville, N.Y.) was joined on the All-Conference First Team by junior teammates Gautam Samarth (Pune, India) and David Yahng (Hong Kong, China). Feldman went 12-5 in singles competition to earn All-NESCAC honors for the first time in his career. Samarth and Yahng were a strong doubles combination once again this spring, forging an 8-2 mark to improve to 33-7 together all-time. The group helped Trinity earn the top seed in the 2008 NESCAC Men’s Tennis Championship and the program’s eighth NCAA Tournament berth in the last 10 years.

Also receiving All-Conference accolades for the first time were senior Filip Marinkovic (Toronto, Ontario) and sophomore Andrew Thomson (West Bloomfield, Mich.) of Middlebury. Marinkovic earned First Team Singles on the strength of a 17-7 record so far this season. When paired with Thompson, the First Team Doubles duo has recorded a remarkable 22-5 edge against opponents.

Bowdoin freshman Stephen Sullivan (Coral Gables, Fla.) came away with NESCAC Rookie of the Year. Sullivan, who was also a First Team Singles selection, had an outstanding first year with the Polar Bears, going 21-10 while playing in the #2 singles slot and was 26-9 in doubles competition.

The Clarence Chaffee Sportsmanship Award was shared between two individuals for the third consecutive year, as Middlebury’s Marinkovic and Trinity junior Brett Ramsay (Glastonbury, Conn.) were chosen for the honor. The Clarence Chaffee Award is given annually to the individual who best combined and displayed a high standard of tennis coupled with the highest levels of sportsmanship.

Coach of the Year honors were shared between Middlebury’s Dave Schwarz and Trinity’s Paul Assaiante, as both men guided their teams to the top seeds in the 2008 NESCAC Men’s Tennis Championship and a spot in the 2008 NCAA Men’s Tennis Tournament. Assaiante last received NESCAC Coach of the Year in 2006, while Schwarz claimed Co-Coach of the Year in 2004 after winning it outright in 2002.