RICHMOND, Va. – The Colonial Athletic Association released its 2016 postseason awards today, April 20, with multiple Elon University men’s tennis players earning honors for their play this season.
“What a great accomplishment for our young team with three singles players and two doubles teams being recognized by the conference,” said head coach Michael Leonard, who was named CAA Coach of the Year. “They have all worked very hard on their game this season and I am thrilled to see them honored.”
Freshman Felipe Sarrasague was named the CAA Rookie of the Year, marking the first time a Phoenix has earned conference Rookie of the Year honors time since Stefan Fortman in 2012. Sarrasague finished with a team-high 14 singles wins, including 10 at the No. 2 position and four at the No. 1 position. He finished the regular season on a 10-match winning streak. The Buenos Aires, Argentina, also earned his first-career CAA Player of the Week honor on March 22.
Leonard was named the conference’s Coach of the Year after guiding the Phoenix to a 16-5 record this season. It is the sixth time in his 12 years at Elon that he has earned Coach of the Year honors. His last award was in 2014 when he earned the same honor in the Southern Conference. Leonard has also helped the Phoenix to 16 or more wins in a season in three of the last four seasons.
Sarrasague was also named first-team All-CAA in singles along with fellow freshman Mario Paccini. Paccini earned 12 singles playing at both No. 1 and No. 2 positions. The Madrid, Spain native ended the regular season on a four-match winning streak and won seven of his last ten matches.
Elon’s top doubles duo of Petar Tomic and Chris Humphreys took home first team All-Conference honors in doubles after finishing with a 10-5 mark during the regular season. The duo also earned CAA Doubles Team of the Week honors on March 3, after helping the Phoenix earn victories against Brown and VCU.
In addition for Elon, senior Robert Lindgren earned All-CAA second team honors in singles. Lindgren has posted his best season in singles action with a 13-5 mark at the No. 3 position. He was also named CAA Player of the Week on March 10.
Lindgren also added CAA second team doubles honors with Paccini. The duo finished with a team-best 11-3 mark in doubles play and ended the regular season on a four match-winning streak. Paccini and Lindgren primarily played at the No. 2 position this season.
Rounding out this year’s Elon honorees is Neal Port, who was named to the CAA All-Academic Team for 2016. The redshirt sophomore partnered up with Salvador Mijares at No. 3 doubles, finishing with a 5-6 record. Port also had a perfect 2-0 record in singles play this season.
Elon will host the 2016 CAA Men’s Tennis Championships, Thursday-Sunday, April 21-24 at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center and Burlington Tennis Center. The third-seeded Phoenix will face sixth-seeded Hofstra in a quarterfinal match on Friday, April 22, at the Burlington Tennis Center. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
2016 ALL-CAA MEN’S TENNIS TEAMS
First Team
Singles
Christian Cargill William & Mary So. Cleveland, Ohio
Juan Estevarena Coll. of Charleston So. Buenos Aires, Argentina
Santtu Leskinen UNCW Sr. Helsinki, Finland
Mario Paccini Elon Fr. Madrid, Spain
Felipe Sarrasague Elon Fr. Buenos Aires, Argentina
Christiaan Van der Burgh UNCW Sr. Stellenbosch, South Africa
Doubles
Rodrigo Encinas Coll. of Charleston Jr. Santiago, Chile
Juan Estevarena Coll. of Charleston So. Buenos Aires, Argentina
Chris Humphreys Elon Jr. Albuquerque, N.M.
Petar Tomic Elon Jr. Belgrade, Serbia
Christiaan Van der Burgh UNCW Sr. Stellenbosch, South Africa
Aviv Ben Shabat UNCW Fr. Tel Aviv, Israel
Second Team
Singles
Rodrigo Encinas Coll. of Charleston Jr. Santiago, Chile
Robert Lindgren Elon Sr. Bastad, Sweden
Alec Miller William & Mary So. Rock Hill, S.C.
Sebastian Salinas James Madison Jr. Merida, Mexico
Agustin Savarino UNCW Fr. Mar Del Plata, Argentina
Marcus Smith Hofstra Fr. Queens, N.Y./Cardozo
Doubles
Christian Cargill William & Mary So. Cleveland, Ohio
Scott Huang William & Mary Sr. Burke, Va.
Maxi Branth James Madison Sr. Stockholm, Sweden
Tristan Stitt James Madison Fr. Dallas, Texas
Robert Lindgren Elon Sr. Bastad, Sweden
Mario Paccini Elon Fr. Madrid, Spain
2016 CAA MEN'S TENNIS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Santtu Leskinen, UNCW
2016 CAA MEN'S TENNIS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Felipe Sarrasague, Elon
2016 CAA MEN'S TENNIS COACH OF THE YEAR: Michael Leonard, Elon
All-Academic Team
Mike Furr Delaware Sr. Kennett Square, Pa.
Scott Huang William & Mary Sr. Burke, Va.
Josh Hublitz UNCW So. Vienna, Va.
Balaji Lakshmanan Drexel So. Chennai, India
Zack Lewis College of Charleston Sr. Richmond, Ky.
Neal Port Elon So. Mount Kisco, N.Y.
Sebastian Salinas James Madison Jr. Merida, Mexico
Niko Vulinovich Hofstra So. Auckland, New Zealand