SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Georgia Southern's Juan Melian Puigventos has been named the Southern Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Year as the league announced its postseason awards Tuesday (April 19). Elon's Cameron Silverman was named the conference's Freshman of the Year while teammate Alberto Rojas earned the league's Don Bunch/Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award. Elon head coach Michael Leonard was named Coach of the Year. Postseason balloting was conducted by the league's head coaches who were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes.
Melian Puigventos went 21-1 in spring competition, including a 10-0 mark in league play at No. 1 singles for the Eagles. He also earned a spot on the league's all-conference first team and closed the regular season on a 15-match winning streak. Melian Puigventos was also named first team all-conference after earning all-freshman honors in 2010.
Leonard guided the Phoenix to a share of the regular season championship with a 9-1 mark in conference play. The Phoenix posted an overall mark of 17-6 this spring. Six of his players earned all-conference honors and also earned both the Freshman of the Year and Sportsmanship Awards for 2011.
Rojas went 15-6 this spring, including a perfect 10-0 mark in conference play on his way to earning the league's Sportsmanship Award.
UNCG's Orcun Seyrek was named first team all-conference for the third consecutive season. College of Charleston's Lukas Koncilia, Elon's Philip Nemec and Chattanooga's Roberto Vieira garnered first team all-conference honors for the second consecutive season. Appalachian State's Alex Markov was also named to the league's first team.
ASU's tandem of Alain Humblet and Philip Kloc were named to the first team in doubles competition. They were joined by Elon's Nemec and Chase Helpingstine, along with UNCG's Seyrek and Timion Meijs.
Second team all-conference selections are made based on position. Davidson's Joe Schafer was chosen at No. 1 singles. College of Charleston's Mickael Trintignac, Tom Delme and Stephen Hardy were chosen at No. 2, No. 3, and No. 6, respectively. UNCG's Ahmet Sarioglu earned second team honors at No. 4, while Rojas was picked at No. 5 singles.
College of Charleston's top two doubles teams were recognized on the second team. Koncilia and Kyle Parker were chosen at No. 1 doubles while Delme and Stephen Hardy earned the nod at No. 2. Elon's team of Silverman and Eric Turner were selected at No. 3 doubles.
Silverman was also named to the league's all-freshman team. He finished with an overall mark of 13-9 in singles play this spring, including an 8-2 record in the conference. Silverman was joined on the all-freshman team by Appalachian State's Sebastien King, Furman's Alex Christ, UNCG's Sarioglu and Chanon Varapongsittikul and Samford's Fernando Costa.
The 2011 Southern Conference Men's and Women's Tennis Championships begin Wednesday (April 20) at the Champions Club in Chattanooga, Tenn.
2011 Men's Tennis Postseason Awards
Singles
Alex Markov, Appalachian State
Lukas Koncilia, College of Charleston
Philip Nemec, Elon
Juan Melian Puigventos, Georgia Southern
Orcun Seyrek, UNCG
Roberto Vieira, Chattanooga
Doubles
Philip Kloc/Alain Humblet, Appalachian State
Philip Nemec/Chase Helpingstine, Elon
Orcun Seyrek/Timion Meijs, UNCG
Second Team
Singles (by position)
No. 1 - Joe Schafer, Davidson
No. 2 - Mickael Trintignac, College of Charleston
No. 3 - Tom Delme, College of Charleston
No. 4 - Ahmet Sarioglu, UNCG
No. 5 - Alberto Rojas, Elon
No. 6 - Stephen Hardy, College of Charleston
Doubles (by position)
No. 1 - Lukas Koncilia/Kyle Parker, CofC
No. 2 - Tom Delme/Stephen Hardy, CofC
No. 3 - Cameron Silverman/Eric Turner, Elon
All-Freshman Team
Sebastien King, Appalachian State
Cameron Silverman, Elon
Alex Christ, Furman
Chanon Varapongsittikul, UNCG
Ahmet Sarioglu, UNCG
Fernando Costa, Samford
Freshman of the Year
Cameron Silverman, Elon
Don Bunch/Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award
Alberto Rojas, Elon
Player of the Year
Juan Melian Puigventos, Georgia Southern
Coach of the Year
Michael Leonard, Elon