Blakhin Named CAC Men's Tennis Player of the Year as Eagles Sweep All First Team All-CAC Honors
YORK, Pa. - University of Mary Washington sophomore Alex Blahkin
(Moscow, Russia/Saddlebrook Prep, Fla.) helped lead the Eagles to
their 13th-straight team championship and was named the 2012 CAC
Men's Tennis Player of the Year by the conference
coaches.
Blahkin, who was a
second-team singles all-star in 2011, is the ninth Eagle to be
named CAC Player of the Year (three have been multiple
winners). It's the seventh-straight year, and the 13th time
since 1998, that a UMW player was named the CAC Player of the
Year.
UMW freshman Evan
Charles (Richmond, Va./Deep Run) and Salisbury freshman
Daniel Albers (Denville, N.J./Morris Knolls) were named the 2012
CAC Co-Rookies of the Year. Charles, a first-team singles and
doubles all-star this year, is the eighth Eagle to win the Rookie
of the Year award while Albers, a second-team singles and doubles
all-star this season, is the sixth Sea Gull to win the award.
Mary Washington's
Todd Helbling was tabbed by his peers as the CAC Coach
of the Year for the fourth-straight year and the ninth time in the
last 11 years. He has won the award more than any other men's
tennis coach in CAC history after leading the Eagles to their
13th-straight CAC crown.
Blahkin and Charles
were joined by four teammates - freshman Tyler Carey
(Moseley, Va./Crosby), junior Will Apperson (Louisville,
Ky./Ballard), senior Riley Baver (Wayne, Pa./Radnor) and
senior Kevin Aquino (Port Orange, Fla./East Stroudsburg,
Pa.) - as UMW captured all six first-team all-star nods.
Baver moved up to
first-team All-CAC singles after three years as a second-team
all-conference selection while Apperson, the 2010 CAC Rookie of the
Year, is a three-time first-team all-star.
Four of the Eagles -
Charles, Blahkin, Carey and Baver - were also first-team doubles
all-stars as UMW also swept all six All-CAC doubles
positions. They were joined by freshmen Donato
Rizzolo (Juniper, Fla./Laurel Springs) and Kaleb Nyugen
(Winchester, Va./Sherando). Charles and Rizzolo play first
doubles, Blahkin and Carey are in the No. 2 position while Baver
and Nuygen are in the third slot. Baver, a first-team doubles
honoree last year, is the only returnee to the All-CAC team as a
doubles player.
Salisbury, which
finished third in the regular season and advanced to the CAC title
match for the sixth-straight year since the addition of the
conference's post-season tournament in 2007, dominated four of the
six second-team All-CAC singles positions and swept all six
second-team doubles spots.
Albers was joined on
the second-team All-CAC squad by junior Adam Goldberger
(Burtonsville, Md./Paint Branch), freshman Nick Mancuso (Victor,
N.Y./Victor) and senior Justin Smith (New Windsor, Md./Francis
Scott Key). All three Gulls are first-time CAC all-stars.
Joining the second-team
CAC singles all-stars - Albers, Goldberger, Smith and Mancuso - on
the second-team doubles roster are seniors Daniel Barnas (La Plata,
Md./La Plata) and Curtis Quandt (Kent Island, Md./Kent
Island). Albers and Barnas play No. 1 doubles, Goldberger and
Smith combine for the No. 2 position while Quandt and Mancuso fill
the No. 3 position. Barnas is a four-time All-CAC doubles
players, including first team the past two seasons.
St. Mary's sophomore
Andrew Gear (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) and senior Thomas
Hoesman (Ellicott City, Md./Howard) were also named to the
second-team All-CAC singles squad. Gear was a first-team
all-star and CAC Rookie of the Year in 2011.
2012 All-CAC Men's Tennis Team
SINGLES
First Team
Yr. Pos.
Team Hometown/High
School Previous Singles Honors
Alex Blahkin So.
1st Mary Washington Moscow,
Russia/Saddlebrook Prep (Fla.) 2nd in '11
Evan Charles
Fr. 2nd Mary
Washington Richmond, Va./Deep Run
Tyler Carey
Fr. 3rd Mary
Washington Moseley, Va./Cosby
Will Apperson Jr.
4th Mary Washington Louisville, Ky./Ballard
1st in '11, 1st & ROY in '10
Riley Baver
Sr. 5th Mary
Washington Wayne,
Pa./Radnor 2nd in '11, 2nd in
'10; 2nd in '09
Kevin Aquino
Sr. 6th Mary
Washington Port Orange, Fla./East Stroudsburg (Pa.)
Second Team
Yr. Pos.
Team Hometown/High
School Previous Singles Honors
Andrew Gear So.
1st St.
Mary's Westminster, Md./Winters
Mill 1st & ROY in '11
Daniel Albers Fr.
2nd
Salisbury Denville, N.J./Morris
Knolls
Thomas Hoesman Sr.
3rd St.
Mary's Ellicott City, Md./Howard
Adam Goldberger Jr.
4th
Salisbury Burtonsville,
Md./Paint Branch
Nick Mancuso Fr.
5th
Salisbury Victor,
N.Y./Victor
Justin Smith Sr.
6th
Salisbury New Windsor,
Md./Francis Scott Key
DOUBLES
First Team
Yr. Pos.
Team Hometown/High
School Previous Doubles Honors
Evan Charles
Fr. 1st Mary
Washington Richmond, Va./Deep Run
Donato Rizzolo Fr
1st Mary Washington Juniper, Fla./Laurel
Springs
Alex Blahkin So.
2nd Mary Washington Moscow,
Russia/Saddlebrook Prep (Fla.)
Tyler Carey
Fr. 2nd Mary
Washington Moseley, Va./Cosby
Riley Baver
Sr. 3rd Mary
Washington Wayne,
Pa./Radnor 1st in '11
Kaleb Nyugen Fr.
3rd Mary Washington Winchester,
Va./Sherando
Second Team
Yr. Pos.
Team Hometown/High
School Previous Doubles Honors
Daniel Albers Fr.
1st
Salisbury Denville, N.J./Morris
Knolls
Daniel Barnas Sr.
1st
Salisbury La Plata, Md./La
Plata 1st in '11, 1st in '10, 2nd & ROY in '09
Adam Goldberger Jr.
2nd
Salisbury Burtonsville,
Md./Paint Branch
Justin Smith Sr.
2nd
Salisbury New Windsor,
Md./Francis Scott Key
Curtis Quandt Sr.
3rd
Salisbury Kent Island, Md./Kent
Island
Nick Mancuso Fr.
3rd
Salisbury Victor,
N.Y./Victor
2012 CAC Player of the Year: Alex Blahkin,
Mary Washington
2012 CAC Co-Rookie of the Year: Evan Charles,
Mary Washington
2012 CAC Co-Rookie of the Year: Daniel Albers, Salisbury
2012 CAC Coach of the Year:
Todd Helbling, Mary Washington (9th time, also in '02,
'03, '05- '07, '09-'11)
