| April 21, 2005
Contact: Rick Nixon (210) 458-4551
Chaves, Andrade, Almeida and Hoglund named All-Southland Conference PLANO, Texas - Preparing for the start of the 2005 Southland Conference Tennis Championships that begin Friday at the UTSA Tennis Center, UTSA was honored on Thursday as four Roadrunners received all-conference accolades.
Junior Hetori Chaves, who sports a 16-3 overall record and a 6-0 conference mark, was an automatic first team selection at the No. 6 singles position. Joining Chaves on the All-SLC first-team is the Roadrunners top doubles tandem of Dennis Andrade and Ricardo Almedia. The seniors were tagged for all-conference after totaling a 4-1 mark at the No. 1 doubles flight in the SLC. UTSA also had a representative on the second squad in junior Jonas Hoglund, who went 2-2 at No. 4 singles.
Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi turned in another strong performance in its second year as an affiliate member of the SLC in men’s tennis. The Islanders grabbed seven all-conference spots this year with sophomore Raul Morant-Rivas headlining the 2005 all-conference teams as the league’s player of the year.
Six singles and two doubles positions were automatic first-team all-SLC nods with TAMU-CC receiving seven automatics, six on the first team and one on the second. UTSA was the other school to get a first-team automatic in senior Chaves at No. 6 singles. According to Southland policy, student-athletes and doubles teams that are perfect in conference, playing at least 50 percent of the matches in a position, automatically earn an all-conference position.
Morant-Rivas is the first Islander to be named the SLC player of the year. The native from Barcelona, Spain, posted a 5-0 record at the top singles flight and was also tabbed to the first team in doubles for turning in a 4-0 mark at No. 3 with partner Oscar Roman.
Seniors Jeremy Blandin, David Plasencia and Oscar Roman went 3-0 in singles in the Southland as Blandin and Plasencia landed seats on the first unit at Nos. 2 and 5, respecively, while Roman secured a spot at No. 6.
TAMU-CC’s doubles duo of Javier Bacaicoa and Goncalo Figueiredo, also a first-team automatic at No. 3 singles, complete the Islander contingent as the No. 2 tandem tallied a perfect 4-0 record in SLC play.
The University of Texas at Arlington took two of the four individual awards this year while also landing four All-SLC picks. Diego Mattar took the league’s freshman of the year accolade while Alberto Agis, a sophomore from Pontevedra, Spain, collected the honor for newcomer of the year. In addition, Agis was also voted to the first team after compiling a 5-1 singles mark at No. 4 and Mattar also received recognition as a second-teamer for a 3-1 showing in No. 3.
For the second year in a row, TAMU-CC’s Steve Denton was given the nod among the voting contingents, which includes his peers, as the Southland Conference Coach of the Year. Denton guided his Islanders to their second straight regular-season title as TAMU-CC went undefeated in conference play for the second consecutive season, finishing with a perfect 6-0 record.
Three other schools notched an all-conference selection apiece, all on the second team. Jeremy Salvo from the University of Texas at Pan American was tagged for No. 2 singles while Lamar University and Southeastern Louisiana University placed a doubles team with LU’s Emilio Kirby and Juan Pablo Alatorre at the No. 2 flight and SLU’s Paul Birkett and Ondrej Krivka completing the All-SLC at No. 3.
2005 ALL-SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE MEN’S TENNIS TEAMS
FIRST TEAM
SINGLES
No. 1 #Raul Morant-Rivas TAMU-CC So. Barcelona, Spain
No. 2 #Jeremy Blandin TAMU-CC Sr. Guerande, France
No. 3 #Goncalo Figueiredo TAMU-CC Sr. Lisbon, Portugal
No. 4 Alberto Agis Texas-Arlington So. Pontevedra, Spain
No. 5 #David Plasencia TAMU-CC Sr. Badajoz, Spain
No. 6 #Hetori Chaves UTSA Jr. Ponta Grosa, Brazil
DOUBLES
No. 1 Dennis Andrade UTSA Sr. Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Ricardo Almeida UTSA Sr. Brasilia, Brazil
No. 2 #Javier Bacaicoa TAMU-CC So. Maracaibo, Venezuela
#Goncalo Figueiredo TAMU-CC Sr. Lisbon, Portugal
No. 3 #Oscar Roman TAMU-CC Sr. Tampico, Mexico
#Raul Morant-Rivas TAMU-CC So. Barcelona, Spain
SECOND TEAM
SINGLES
No. 1 Sandy Farquharson Texas-Arlington Jr. Cheam, England
No. 2 Jeremy Salvo Texas-Pan American Sr. Coquitlam, BC, Canada
No. 3 Diego Mattar Texas-Arlington Fr. La Calera, Chile
No. 4 Jonas Hoglund UTSA Jr. Stockholm, Sweden
No. 5 Ian Vazquez Texas-Arlington Jr. Santiago de Compstella, Spain
No. 6 #Oscar Roman TAMU-CC Sr. Tampico, Mexico
DOUBLES
No. 1 Jeremy Blandin TAMU-CC Sr. Guerande, France
Andrey Kumantsov TAMU-CC So. Tula, Russia
No. 2 Emilio Kirby Lamar Sr. Neuquen, Argentina
Juan Pablo Alatorre Lamar Sr. Mexico City, Mexico
No. 3 Paul Birkett Southeastern La. Sr. Durban, South Africa
Ondrej Krivka Southeastern La. Fr. Louny, Czech Republic
#Automatic first team based on undefeated conference record at position nominated.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Raul Morant-Rivas, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Diego Mattar, Texas-Arlington
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Alberto Agis, Texas-Arlington
COACH OF THE YEAR: Steve Denton, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
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