ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Anderson University men's tennis team was one of three squads to have three All-South Atlantic Conference selections, as junior Stan Atema earned first-team honors, while Deni Mehagic and Daniel Gonzalez each garned second-team accolades.

Atema, a junior from Marabela, Spain, helped lead the Trojans to a national ranking of 24th earlier in the season and a No. two seed in this week's SAC Tournament, while posting an 11-6 singles record, including 8-1 in league play and going 12-7 in doubles action. He closed out the regular season with a three-match win streak.

Mehagic, from Ljubljana, Slovenia, notched an overall singles mark of 13-4, while also suffering just one setback in SAC play at 8-1. The sophomore wrapped up the regular season by winning four consecutive matches.

Gonzalez, a sophomore from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, posted a 12-7 overall singles' record, wining seven of his last 10 regular season matchups. He recorded a five-match win streak in March.

"It is great that our players were recognized for their efforts this season." said Anderson head coach Joey Eskridge. "Especially Stan Atema, who has beaten two top-40 players in the country in singles in the last month as well as reaching a career high of 15th in the country in doubles with doubles partner Daniel Gonzales. I am very happy with our success."

Lincoln Memorial University sophomore Philipp Hoffmann, who went undefeated in conference play at No. 1 singles, and Brevard College freshman Sam MacNeil, who was also undefeated in conference play, headline the 2011 South Atlantic Conference Men's Tennis All-Conference Team, it was announced by the league office today.

Hoffmann went 9-0 at No. 1 singles for the Railsplitters, and is 16-1 overall on the season, to earn Player of the Year honors. With partner Tom Goossens, they went 8-1 at No. 1 doubles and 14-3 overall. Hoffmann, the 2010 SAC Freshman of the Year, has won 11 consecutive matches and is 35-2 in singles play during his career.

MacNeil, a freshman from Dunfermline, Scotland, played No. 2 singles, where he went 9-0 in conference play and 14-4 overall, and was named Freshman of the Year. He also had an 8-1 conference record in doubles play, and was 13-6 overall, including a 12-3 record with Cole Altizer.

Wingate University head coach Michael Cabana, who guided the Bulldogs to an undefeated conference record and Wingate's second conference championship in three years, was named Coach of the Year. He wins this award for the second time in his career.

Anderson, Brevard and Wingate led the way with three All-Conference selections each.
Wingate placed all three on the first team.

Wingate University's Braeden Patchell was the recipient of the Scholar-Athlete Award for men's tennis. Patchell is a senior majoring in biology, with minors in chemistry and psychology, and carries a 3.724 GPA. He has been named to the Wingate University Dean's List, President's List and is a three-time ITA scholar-athlete.

Patchell is a three-time All-Conference selection and has a career singles record of 46-25, including a 27-5 record against conference opponents.

As a service to his community, Patchell volunteers at a local hospital and a cardiac rehabilitation program. He reads to geriatric patients, helps with meal distribution and assists nurses with general housekeeping. Among his duties at the YMCA Cardiac Rehab program, Patchell assists doctors and nurses with taking patients blood pressures before rehab sessions. He monitors and records patients' progress during various cardio exercises, and assists patients in measuring and recording heart rates during exercise. He has also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity on three projects.

The South Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete Award recognizes one student-athlete in each of its 14 sports programs and represents a combination of athletic skill, academic achievement and participation in community service and leadership. The award is selected by the league's Faculty Athletic Representatives.

2011 SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE
MEN'S TENNIS ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

First Team
Stan Atema, Anderson
Scott McCormick, Brevard
Sam MacNeil, Brevard
Philipp Hoffmann, Lincoln Memorial
Vinicius Botelho, Newberry
Matthew Lichtenstein, Wingate
Drew Owen, Wingate
Flavio Rathsam, Wingate

Second Team
Deni Mehagic, Anderson
Daniel Gonzalez, Anderson
Beau Wills, Brevard
Trent Slagle, Carson-Newman
Thomas Mitchell, Catawba
Tommy Brennan, Lenoir-Rhyne
Lucas Simm, Mars Hill
Michael Saunders, Newberry

Player of the Year - Philipp Hoffmann, Lincoln Memorial

Freshman of the Year - Sam MacNeil, Brevard

Coach of the Year - Michael Cabana, Wingate

Scholar-Athlete - Braeden Patchell, Wingate