Coaches Select Earlham as HCAC Men’s Tennis Favorite

GREENWOOD, IN – Earlham College's men's tennis team has been unanimously selected as the front runner to win the 2012 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.

Transylvania University placed second in the poll with 90 points, while Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is picked to finish third in the conference standings this fall with 71 points.  Hanover College (66 points), Anderson University (64), Franklin College (52), College of Mount St. Joseph (37), Manchester College (30), Defiance College (29), and Bluffton University (11) round out the poll.

The Quakers are coming off a 16-4 season and 7-1conference record in claiming their first HCAC championship. Earlham won the HCAC Tournament and fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Luther, ending its season.  EC enters the 2012 conference season looking for a second consecutive title.

Coach Adam Van Zee returns three First-Team All-HCAC selections to the Earlham lineup this spring.  Sophomore Andrey Gavrilov (Yaroslavl, Russia/Universal) and juniors Henry Levin (Dallas, Tex./Highland Park) and Brad Maisey (Mt. Maunganui, New Zealand) will look to pick up where they left off last season.  Gavrilov posted a 6-1 league record in singles action and was 5-2 in doubles.  Levin was 4-0 at No. 1 singles and earned a 5-2 mark at No. 1 doubles, while Maisey was a perfect 14-0 in league matches.

Transylvania  will look to reclaim its spot at the top of the HCAC standings after seeing its eight year run as tourney champs come to a close.  The Pioneers earned a share of the regular season title with a 7-1 record and finished the season 10-5 overall.  Transy also returns three First-Team All-HCAC members from a year ago.  Seniors Will Palmer (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay), Keith Henderson (Lexington, Ky./Lafayette), and Patrick Corbett (Lexington, Ky./St. Xavier) will strive to overtake the Quakers this spring.  Palmer led the Pioneers with a 4-2 mark at No. 1 singles and finished 7-1 at the top doubles position.  Henderson was 6-2 in singles action and earned a 7-1 mark at No. 2 doubles, while Corbett stood 8-1 overall on the season.

Rose-Hulman also shared the regular season title with Earlham and Transylvania after earning a 7-1 league mark last spring.  The Engineers finished the 2011 season 10-8 overall.  Junior Ben Paras (Tucson, Ariz./Nordhoff) is the lone returning First-Team All-HCAC member from last year's squad.  Paras was 3-4 at No. 1 singles for the Engineers last season and held a 4-4 record at No. 1 doubles.

The 2012 men's tennis season is set to begin on February 2.

Players to Watch