Men's Tennis Places Four on All-Conference Teams
ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Four members of the Mitchell College men's tennis team earned all-conference recognition from the New England Collegiate Conference on Monday afternoon.
Freshman Rajan Bawa, junior Rocco Devona and senior Alexander Fusco were all named to the NECC All-Conference First Team for singles while senior Tyler Engleberg earned Honorable Mention status. All four also earned spots on the NECC All-Conference First Team for doubles.
Bawa went 8-2 in singles while manning the top spot for the Mariners. All but one of his victories came in straight sets, and his only losses came in closely-contested matches against NECC Player of the Year Michael Beluch of Regis College. Bawa was the only player in the conference to earn a win against Beluch during the regular season.
Devona earned all-conference first team honors for the third time in his career. He finished the season with an 11-0 record in singles while playing primarily at the No. 2 spot. He went 9-0 during the regular season and coasted to a pair of victories at the 2012 NECC Men's Tennis Championship en route to being named the tournament's MVP. In three seasons he has posted a career record of 35-1 and is undefeated in conference play at 24-0.
Fusco earned all-conference recognition for the first time in singles. He was the only player in the NECC to play in all 10 conference matches and not suffer a defeat, and he capped his four-year career with a 13-1 overall record that included a pair of wins at the NECC Championship. Fusco ended his Mitchell career with a 26-3 record in singles play.
Engleberg took home all-conference singles honors for the fourth time in his career. He went undefeated in five regular season matches and also posted a pair of wins at the NECC Championship to run his record to 7-0. He finished his four-year career undefeated in singles play with a record of 37-0.
Bawa and Devona posted a 7-0 record as doubles partners that included a 5-0 mark in conference play. The duo also earned a pair of wins at the No. 1 spot in the NECC Championship with wins over Becker College and Regis. Devona picked up all-conference doubles honors for the third time in his career and improved to 37-1 all-time at Mitchell. Bawa finished the year undefeated in doubles play at 10-0.
Fusco and Engleberg posted a 7-0 record as playing partners that included a pair of wins at the NECC Championship. Fusco earned all-conference doubles recognition for the second time in his career while Engleberg was a three-time selection. Fusco ended his career with a 34-5 doubles mark while Engleberg finished at 37-2.
Mitchell finished the season with a team record of 12-2 overall and 9-1 in NECC play. The Mariners won the 2012 NECC Men's Tennis Championship by a 7-2 final over Regis College on April 28, cementing their fourth straight NECC title.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Michael Beluch, Regis (Fr. - Lynn, Mass.)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Michael Beluch, Regis (Fr. - Lynn, Mass.)
COACH OF THE YEAR
David Bostick, Becker
TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Becker College
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE SINGLES
Rajan Bawa, Mitchell (Fr. - Basking Ridge, N.J.)
Michael Beluch, Regis (Fr. - Lynn, Mass.)
Rocco Devona, Mitchell (Jr. - Waterford, Conn.)
Alexander Fusco, Mitchell (Sr. - Saugus, Mass.)
Branden Parkhouse, Becker (Jr. - Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.)
Andy White, Regis (So. - Bozeman, Mont.)
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE DOUBLES
Rajan Bawa - Fr./Rocco Devona - Jr., Mitchell
Michael Beluch - Fr./Andy White - So., Regis
Tyler Engleberg - Sr./Alexander Fusco - Sr. - Mitchell
Jake Gilbert - Sr./Brian Piquette - So, Becker
HONORABLE MENTION SINGLES
Christian Domingo, Lesley (Sr. - Granada Hills, Calif.)
Tyler Engleberg, Mitchell (Sr. - Niantic, Conn.)
David Graham, Becker (Sr. - Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.)
Jeffrie Parrish, Regis (So. - Framingham, Mass.)
HONORABLE MENTION DOUBLES
None
