Men's Tennis Conference Awards Handed Out
The Sun Conference released its 2019 men’s tennis honors at the annual conference tournament banquet, held by Coastal Georgia.
Regular season champion, Keiser placed five players on the first team all-conference squad. Webber International and Coastal had one player each on the first team.
Keiser University freshman, Geronimo Barrios was named Sun Conference Freshman and Player of the Year. Barrios hails Santiago, Chile and was 7-0 in conference play at the top singles spot. On the year, he was 9-8 overall and is currently ranked No. 43 in the ITA.
Oliver Koeng and Riccardo Ferraris of Keiser University were named the Doubles Team of the Year. This is the second straight year that a Seahawks team has garnered this award. The duo went 6-1 during conference play and 9-7 overall out of the No. 1 spot.
Daniel Finn was selected as The Sun Conference Coach of the Year for a second straight season. Finn guided the Seahawks to their fourth straight regular season championship. Keiser finished with a 14-6 overall record but were 7-0 in conference play. The Seahawks are currently ranked seventh in the NAIA but have been as high as second.
Felipe Barbosa of Southeastern and Nicolas Hofmeister of Ave Maria were awarded the champion of character award. Barbosa has been a captain for the Southeastern men’s team for the past two season. He often leads by example, setting an expectation of how to perform with character at a high level. Felipe felt inspired to bring awareness to the effects that plastic, such as straws, can have in the environment and within the community. Felipe started an Instagram page called Eco Atitude Vila Velha in which he posts pictures of the environment and facts on the effects of pollution. Felipe also made connections with USF students who have helped form a Brazilian Student Association at their campus. Through this connection, Felipe and his teammates have also begun to form a Brazilian Student Association (BRASA) on Southeastern’s campus, and has requested approval of the student government at SEU.
Hofmeister of Ave Maria is a dedicated student-athlete, majoring in Health Science and minoring in Psychology. Despite being only a sophomore, Nicholas has taken over the leadership role this year. He has being helping his teammates with their classes and their tennis game. In practice, Nicholas tries to hit with everyone despite the level difference. He made to the Dean's List last year. Nicholas also has been going to the March for Life twice. He is very passionate about his faith and he has been going to abortion clinics to bring awareness on the subject to women. Last but not least, he volunteers at his Church back in Indiana twice week and special events.
A total of 17 players were selected to the Academic All-Conference team. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with two semesters complete at their institution, and carry a grade point average of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale. Webber International led the league with four honorees.
All-Conference
First Team
Arthur Bonnaud, Keiser
Matt Hulme, Coastal Georgia
Geronimo Barrios, Keiser
Riccardo Ferraris, Keiser
Hugo Hasegawa, Webber
Julian Turosienski, Keiser
Gerard Rodriguez, Keiser
Second Team
Ben Dolan, Coastal Georgia
Tara Mariga, Webber
Daiki Naka, SCAD
Felipe Barbosa, Southeastern
Ivan Bondarenko, Webber
Bautista Chiaradia, Coastal Georgia
Player of the Year
Geronimo Barrios, Keiser
Doubles of the Year
Oliver Koeng/Riccardo Ferraris, Keiser
Freshman of the Year
Geronimo Barrios, Keiser
Champion of Character
Felipe Barbosa, Southeastern/Nicolas Hofmeister, Ave Maria
Coach of the Year
Daniel Finn, Keiser
Academic All-Conference
Jonathan Althoff, Ave Maria
Nicholas Hofmeister, Ave Maria
Cesar Menacho, Ave Maria
Tucker Fischer, Ave Maria
Adrian Farina Mosquera, Coastal Georgia
Hugo Hasegawa, Webber International
Ivan Bondarenko, Webber International
Marc Schneider, Webber International
Jordi Serrano, Webber International
Francisco Velasquez, St. Thomas
Enzo Migliano, St. Thomas
Mateo Fernandez, SCAD
Matthew Kastritis, SCAD
Daiki Naka, SCAD
Matheus de Aquino, Warner
Bruno Carvalho, Warner
Antonio Santos, Warner