Men's Tennis All-NESCAC Selections Announced
Amherst's Yaraghi Named Player of the Year
HADLEY, Mass. - Amherst junior Andrew Yaraghi (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) has been voted by the conference coaches as the 2015 NESCAC Player of the Year. Yaraghi’s play helped the Jeffs earn the top seed in the NESCAC Men’s Tennis Championship for the fourth time in five years, as he has posted a 16-6 record heading into the NCAA Team Championship. He is the second consecutive Amherst player to receive the award following Joey Fritz last season, and the third overall as Zack Lerner was Co-Player of the Year in 2009. Yaraghi is also the second junior to receive the award along with Williams’ Felix Sun in 2012.
Yaraghi was named to the All-NESCAC First Team in singles this season after earning second team recognition in singles and doubles in 2013 en route to capturing NESCAC Rookie of the Year accolades. He started the year at the No. 3 position, but moved up to the No. 1 position in late March. Since April, he has won nine straight singles matches to help Amherst post a 19-5 overall team record and earn a berth in the NCAA Team Championship. Yaraghi was one of six singles players from the NESCAC selected to participate in the NCAA individual championships from May 21-23 in Mason, Ohio.
Joining Yaraghi on the First Team is the No. 1 Amherst doubles team of Aaron Revzin (Needham, Mass.) and Michael Solimano (Montvale, N.J.). The junior duo has compiled a record of 19-5, and only dropped three matches during the spring schedule en route to being chosen to compete in the doubles portion of the NCAA Championships. Revzin lands on the all-conference team for the first time in his career. Solimano, who was named to the Second Team in doubles in 2013, earned First Team plaudits for the first time in singles after being named to the Second Team in 2014. He won the USTA/ITA New England Regional Championship this past fall, and carried that momentum into the spring at the No. 2 position. He enters the NCAA Team Championship at 21-4, and is an alternate for the singles tournament of the NCAA Championships. Solimano was also selected as the recipient of the Clarence Chaffee Sportsmanship Award. The award is given annually to the individual who best displayed a high standard of tennis coupled with the highest levels of sportsmanship. Solimano is the second Jeff to receive the award, joining Josh Rilla (2006).
A trio of players represented NESCAC Champion Middlebury on the First Team. Junior Ari Smolyar (West Orange, N.J.) landed on the First Team in singles this season after being a Second Team singles selection in 2014. After reaching the round of 16 at the USTA/ITA New England Regional Championship and winning the Middlebury and Wallach Invitationals last fall, he played at the No. 1 position this spring en route to a 25-3 record with one loss in April. As a result, he has been selected to participate in the singles portion of the NCAA Championships. Since becoming a team at the start of the spring, the duo of junior Palmer Campbell (Nashville, Tenn.) and senior Peter Heidrich (Peoria, Ill.) have posted a record of 15-5. The Panthers’ No. 1 tandem are 15-5, and have lost one match since April 4 heading into the NCAA Team Championship. Campbell was a First Team doubles pick last year, while Heidrich lands on his first all-conference squad. The pair has also been invited to compete in the doubles tournament at the NCAA Championships.
Rounding out the singles selections are Trinity senior Dan Carpenter (Wayzata, Minn.), Wesleyan sophomore Michael Liu (Basking Ridge, N.J.) and Colby sophomore Carl Reid (Mattapan, Mass.). Carpenter was named to the First Team in singles after posting a record of 10-10 at the top position for the Bantams. He was elevated to the First Team after being selected to Second Team singles last season. After reaching the semifinal round of the USTA/ITA New England Regional Championship last fall, Liu played at the No. 1 position this spring en route to a 12-7 record and his first all-conference selection. Reid, the 2014 NESCAC Rookie of the Year and First Team singles pick, has won seven of his last eight matches as he is 15-3 at the No. 1 position. In the fall, he reached the finals of the Wallach Invitational and the round of 16 at the USTA/ITA New England Regional Championship. Reid was named Second Team doubles for the second straight year as well. All three players have been selected to compete in the singles portion of the NCAA Championships, while Reid will also compete in the doubles tournament.
The top Bates doubles team of senior Pierre Planche (Natick, Mass.) and sophomore Chris Ellis (Shrewsbury, Mass.) earned all-conference honors for the first time as a pair. The duo won the USTA/ITA New England Regional Doubles Championship as they went 9-0 in September and are currently 18-9 heading into the doubles portion of the NCAA Championships. Planche was selected to the First Team in doubles for the second consecutive season after landing on the team a year ago, while Ellis received all-conference recognition for the first time in his career.
Middlebury first-year Noah Farrell (Wilton, Conn.) stepped into the No. 2 position for the Panthers this year, amassing a singles record of 19-9 en route to being selected as the NESCAC Rookie of the Year. He reached the quarterfinals of the USTA/ITA New England Championships and the final of the Middlebury Invitational last fall. Farrell is the fourth Middlebury player to earn the award, joining George Mayer (2004), Conrad Olson (2006) and Andrew Thompson (2007). He was also named to the Second Team in singles.
Bob Hansen of Middlebury was selected as the NESCAC Men’s Tennis Coach of the Year by his peers in back-to-back seasons. In his fourth season at the helm, Hansen guided the Panthers, who are 18-3 overall, to their first conference crown since 2010 and their seventh overall. Since coming to Middlebury, he has guided the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament each year.
Men's Tennis All-Conference Teams
| First Team All-NESCAC |
| Name |
Institution |
Class |
Position |
Hometown |
| Palmer Campbell |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Doubles |
Nashville, Tenn. |
| Dan Carpenter |
Trinity |
Sr. |
Singles |
Wayzata, Minn. |
| Chris Ellis |
Bates |
So. |
Doubles |
Shrewsbury, Mass. |
| Peter Heidrich |
Middlebury |
Sr. |
Doubles |
Peoria, Ill. |
| Michael Liu |
Wesleyan |
So. |
Singles |
Basking Ridge, N.J. |
| Pierre Planche |
Bates |
Sr. |
Doubles |
Natick, Mass. |
| Carl Reid |
Colby |
So. |
Singles |
Mattapan, Mass. |
| Aaron Revzin |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Doubles |
Needham, Mass. |
| Ari Smolyar |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Singles |
West Orange, N.J. |
| Michael Solimano |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Singles/Doubles |
Montvale, N.J. |
| Andrew Yaraghi |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Singles |
Oyster Bay, N.Y. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Second Team All-NESCAC |
| Name |
Institution |
Class |
Position |
Hometown |
| Noah Bragg |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
Singles |
Brookline, Mass. |
| Steven Chen |
Wesleyan |
Fy. |
Singles |
Rancho Bernardo, Calif. |
| Noah Farrell |
Middlebury |
Fy. |
Singles |
Wilton, Conn. |
| Brian Grodecki |
Williams |
Fy. |
Singles |
Wayne, Pa. |
| Rohan Gupte |
Tufts |
Fy. |
Singles/Doubles |
Las Vegas, Nev. |
| Musyoka Mbithi |
Trinity |
Sr. |
Doubles |
Roxbury, N.J. |
| Vlad Murad |
Colby |
So. |
Doubles |
Bacau, Romania |
| Jose Raventos |
Williams |
Jr. |
Singles |
San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Carl Reid |
Colby |
So. |
Doubles |
Mattapan, Mass. |
| Nik Telkedzhiev |
Tufts |
Jr. |
Doubles |
Plovdiv, Bulgaria |
| Ford Traff |
Trinity |
Jr. |
Doubles |
Wayzata, Minn. |
|
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