Men's Tennis Southern Conference

Gooch Ranked Sixth in ITA Rankings

SKILLMAN, N.J. ? Elon senior captain Damon Gooch has been listed at No. 6 among the NCAA’s top Division I men’s tennis players in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s 2009 Mideast Region singles rankings, landing ahead of the top players from national powerhouses Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Virginia Tech.

Gooch’s No. 6 rating marks the highest NCAA Division I regional ranking ever by a Phoenix tennis player. His regional ranking of No. 13 in December 2007 marked the program’s previous best. Gooch and sophomore Philip Nemec are now ranked No. 14 regionally and No. 49 nationally on the doubles scene while Elon sophomore Oscar Podlewski has cracked the national singles rankings for the first time at No. 121.

One of the most decorated tennis players in Elon history, Gooch is a two-year captain, a two-time team MVP, a three-time First Team All-Southern Conference singles and doubles player, a four-time SoCon Player of the Week and a three-time SoCon Player of the Month. He advanced to the ITA Mideast Regional Championship semifinals in October, marking the best finish ever in the tournament by a Phoenix player.

Gooch has been a cornerstone for the Phoenix at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles throughout his career, earning SoCon Freshman of the Year accolades in 2006 and helping his team to a pair of SoCon regular-season titles to go with a SoCon tournament title and an NCAA tournament appearance. He has also appeared on the Academic All-Southern Conference and Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar-Athlete teams.
 
Mideast Singles Rankings
1 ? Michael Shabaz (Virginia)
2 ? Jean Yves Aubone (Florida State)
3 ? Dominic Inglot (Virginia)
4 ? Enrique Olivares (East Tennessee State)
5 ? Cory Parr (Wake Forest)
6 ? Damon Gooch (Elon)
7 ? Gulillermo Gomez (Georgia Tech)
8 ? Steven Forman (Wake Forest)
9 ? Houstan Barrick (Virginia)
10 ? Pedro Graber (Virginia Tech)
11 ? Christian Welte (North Carolina State)
12 ? Jay Weinacker (North Carolina State)
13 ? Reid Carelton (Duke)
14 ? Sanam Singh (Virginia)
15 ? Clint Bowles (Florida State)
16 ? Nicolas Delgado (Virginia Tech)
17 ? Clay Donato (North Carolina)
18 ? Bo Ladyman (Furman)
19 ? Gera Boryachinsky (Clemson)
20 ? Carlos Alvarez (Clemson)
21 ? Ivan Salec (Radford)
22 ? Kiril Dimitrov (Duke)
23 ? Maciek Sykut (Florida State)
24 ? Keziel Juneau (William & Mary)
25 ? Yoann Re (Virginia Tech)
26 ? Taylor Fogleman (North Carolina)
27 ? Aleksander Seleznev (Old Dominion)
28 ? Nicolas Vinel (Virginia Commonwealth)
29 ? Kevin King (Georgia Tech)
30 ? Dylan Arnould (Duke)

Mideast Doubles Rankings
1 ? Parr/Forman (Wake Forest)
2 ? Barrick/Singh (Virginia)
3 ? Inglot/Shabaz (Virginia)
4 ? Weinacker/Welte (North Carolina State)
5 ? Orban/Fetbroyt (Maryland)
6 ? Aubone/Bowles (Florida State)
7 ? Juc/Ladyman (Furman)
8 ? Donato/Fogleman (North Carolina)
9 ? Delgado/Somen (Virginia Tech)
10 ? Price/Wietoska (Duke)
11 ? Fanslow/Seleznev (Old Dominion)
12 ? Arnould/Carelton (Duke)
13 ? Morganstern/Wolff (Wake Forest)
14 ? Gooch/Nemec (Elon)
15 ? Bottoni/Terez (East Tennessee State)