Men's Tennis All-Conference Selections Released

Middlebury’s Peters Claims Top Honors

HADLEY, Mass. – Middlebury senior Andrew Peters (Baltimore, Md.) has been named the 2011 NESCAC Player of the Year, as determined by the conference coaches. He is the fifth Panther player in the last six years to have either won outright or shared the conference's top award. Peters hopes to help his squad successfully defend its 2010 NCAA crown when the national tournament opens up play this weekend.

Peters added All-NESCAC First Team Singles and Doubles honors to the Player of the Year award he won. One of only two individuals to return from last year's First Team Singles, Peters has had an impressive final season with the Panthers, going 23-5 overall and 12-4 in dual match play at the No. 1 position. Peters and doubles partner freshman Brantner Jones (Winnetka, Ill.), who also earned First Team Doubles, hold a 20-4 overall record entering the weekend. The duo are one of four that will compete in the NCAA doubles tournament later this month, while Peters is one of seven individuals from the NESCAC - nearly a quarter of the field - that have been chosen for the NCAA individual championship.

Senior Stephen Sullivan (Coral Gables, Fla.) of Bowdoin completed a rare feat with his fourth consecutive appointment to the All-Conference First Team at singles. Playing in the No. 1 singles slot in each of the last three seasons, Sullivan has put together an impressive final campaign for the Polar Bears with a 16-3 overall record and a 13-2 dual match mark. Sullivan, the 2008 NESCAC Rookie of the Year, was also singled out by the conference coaches for the the Clarence Chaffee Sportsmanship Award. The award is given annually to the individual who best combined and displayed a high standard of tennis coupled with the highest levels of sportsmanship. Sullivan rounded out his NESCAC awards with an appointment to the First Team Doubles for the first time with junior partner Oscar Pena (Miami, Fla.). Pena, who was recognized on the First Team Doubles in 2009, was paired up with Sullivan in late April and the two have put together a 6-1 mark, the lone loss coming in the semifinals of the 2011 NESCAC Men's Tennis Championship.

Three individuals from the 2011 NESCAC Champion Amherst squad were on the First Team. Lord Jeff sophomore Luis Rattenhuber (Munich, Germany) claimed First Team Singles, as he holds an 11-3 record in dual match play while competing primarily at No. 1 singles. Senior Moritz Koenig (Hamburg, Germany) earned All-NESCAC recognition for the third year in a row with a spot on the First Team Doubles with partner Wes Waterman (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), a junior. Koenig was a member of the 2010 Second Team Singles and Doubles a year after receiving First Team Doubles for the first time in his career. Paired together for most of the season, the tandem hold a 21-6 overall record, having won the ITA New England Regional Championship this past fall. Waterman also found a spot on the Second Team Singles this year.

After being named to the First Team Doubles in 2010, Trinity junior Anson McCook (Miami, Fla.) came away as a member of the First Team Singles in 2011. McCook, who will participate in the NCAA individual championship, went 11-3 in dual match play at No. 1 singles for the Bantams.

Rounding out the 2011 All-NESCAC First Team were a pair of sophomores recognized for their singles play, Matt Bettles (Taunton, England) of Bates and Felix Sun (Potomac, Md.) of Williams. Both were named to the Second Team Doubles, and both will compete in the NCAA individual championship May 24-26. Sun won the ITA New England Regional Championship over Bettles back in September before going on to reach the final in the ITA National Small College Championship. Playing at No. 1 singles for their respective squads, Bettles went 8-9 in dual match play, while Sun, last year's Rookie of the year, owns an 11-6 record heading into the weekend.

Bates freshman Timmy Berg (Bradenton, Fla.) was honored as the NESCAC Rookie of the Year. Berg posted an 11-6 record in dual match play this spring, with a 9-4 record at No. 3 singles and a 6-2 mark against conference opponents. He was also honored on the Second Team Singles.

Amherst's Chris Garner was chosen by his counterparts as NESCAC Coach of the Year. It's the second time that the fourth-year head coach has earned the honor, as he was previously recognized in 2009. Garner's Lord Jeffs won their first NESCAC title since 1992 this past weekend, rolling past rival Williams 5-0. Amherst went 8-0 against conference foes in the regular season and is 31-1 heading into the NCAA Tournament.