Coaches Select Earlham to Repeat as HCAC Men's Tennis Champs

GREENWOOD, IN - Earlham College's men's tennis team has been unanimously
selected as the front runner to win the 2013 Heartland Collegiate Athletic
Conference championship. In a poll of the ten HCAC head coaches, the Quakers
received a maximum total of 100 points and all ten first place votes.




2013 HCAC Preseason Poll




Team

Points


1.

Earlham

100 (10)


2.

Transylvania

89


3.

Rose-Hulman

72


4.

Franklin

71


5.

Hanover

60


6.

Anderson

56


7.

Manchester

36


8.

Mount St. Joseph

28


9.

Defiance

27


10.

Bluffton

11

Transylvania University placed second in the poll with 89 points, while
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is picked to finish third in the
conference standings this fall with 72 points.  Franklin College (71
points), Hanover College (60), Anderson University (56), Manchester
University (36), College of Mount St. Joseph (28), Defiance College (27),
and Bluffton University (11) round out the poll.



The Quakers are coming off a 19-2 season and 9-0 conference record, claiming
their second straight HCAC championship. Earlham won the HCAC tournament and
fell in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Baldwin-Wallace, ending
its season.  EC enters the 2013 conference season looking for a third
consecutive title.



Coach Adam Van Zee returns three First-Team All-HCAC selections to the
Earlham lineup this spring.  Sophomore Anton Bartashevich (Moscow, Russia),
junior Andrey Gavrilov (Yaroslavl, Russia), and senior Brad Maisey (Mt.
Maunganui, New Zealand) will look to pick up where they left off last
season.  Bartashevich posted an 8-0 league record in singles action and was
7-0 in doubles.  Gavrilov was also 8-0 in singles and earned a 9-0 mark in
doubles, while Maisey was a perfect 16-0 in league matches. 


Transylvania  will look to challenge the Quakers for the top of the HCAC
standings.  The Pioneers finished second in the standings last spring with
an 8-1 record and finished the season 11-6 overall.  Transy returns one
First-Team All-HCAC member from a year ago.  Senior Keith Henderson
(Lexington, Ky./Lafayette) will look to lead the Pioneers lineup among the
league's elite this spring.  Henderson led the Pioneers with an 8-1 mark at
No. 1 and 2 singles and finished 7-2 at the top doubles position. 



Rose-Hulman finished the 2012 season fourth in the conference standings,
earning a 6-3 HCAC record. The Engineers finished the season 10-7 overall.
Seniors Ben Paras (Tucson, Ariz./Nordhoff) and Devin Fritz (Lakeside,
Cali./West Hills) return to the Engineer lineup after earning First-Team
All-HCAC honors last spring.  Paras was 4-5 at No. 1 singles for the
Engineers last season and held a 5-4 record at No. 1 doubles.  Fritz
finished the season 6-3 at No. 2 doubles, while teaming with Paras at No. 1
doubles.



The 2013 men's tennis season is set to begin on February 9.



Players to Watch






Anderson

Drew Lovern

Senior

Indianapolis, Ind./Covenant Christian

         
         



Brock Bell

Senior

Muncie, Ind./Burris

         
         

Connor Whiteside

Freshman



         
         

                 

Bluffton

Matt Weisenborn

Junior

Bowling Green, Ohio/Otsego

         
         



A.J. Haley

Junior

Wilmington, Ohio/H.S.

         
         



Matt McCoy

Sophomore

Archbold, Ohio/H.S.

         
         









         
         

Defiance

Cord Speelman

Junior

Bryan, Ohio/H.S.

         
         

 

Mike Ross

Junior

Bryan, Ohio/H.S.

         
         

Ryan Nelson

Sophomore

Oregon, Ohio/Clay

         
         

                 

Earlham

Phillip Locklear

Freshman

Springboro, Ohio/H.S.

         
         



Kyle Richter

Sophomore

Fremont, Cali./Mission San Jose

         
         

Jack Ventura-Cruess  

Freshman

Placentia, Cali./El Dorado

         
         

                 

Franklin

Blake Wareham

Senior

Carmel, Ind./H.S.

         
         



Ryan Hammer

Sophomore

Greenwood, Ind.

         
         







         
         

Hanover

Steven Gilliam

Senior

Fishers, Ind./H.S.

       

 

Brian Clark

Sophomore

New Palestine, Ind./H.S.

       

Reid Clark

Freshman

New Palestine, Ind./H.S.

       







       

Manchester

Kyle Lahman

Sophomore

N. Manchester, Ind./Manchester

       

  

Phil Truitt

Sophomore

Huntington, Ind./North

       

Ramiro Arguijo

Junior

Wakarusa, Ind./Northwood

       

Bobby Swaby

Junior

Farmersburg, Ind./North Central

       







       

The Mount

Colin Barrett

Senior

Cincinnati, Ohio/Mariemont

       

  

Max Withrow

Senior

Ft. Mitchell, Ky./Beechwood

       

Clayton Steinriede

Senior

Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier

       

Tyler Esham

Senior

New Richmond, Ind./H.S.

       









       

Rose-Hulman

Ben Paras

Senior

Tucson, Ariz./Nordhoff

       



Devon Fritz

Senior

Lakeside, Calif./West Hills

       



Nate Moore

Junior

Scottsdale, Ariz.

       



Ray Montgomery

Sophomore

Terre Haute, Ind./South

       









       

Transylvania

Tyler Pewitt

Senior

Frankfort, Ky./Franklin Co.

       

   

Keith Henderson

Senior

Lexington, Ky./Lafayette

       

Jordan Evans

Senior

Paris, Ky./Bourbon Co.

       



Patrick Richardson

Junior

Louisville, Ky./Trinity