FERRIS' BRENTON BACON NAMED NATIONAL ROOKIE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Freshman Men's Tennis Standout Picks Up National ITA Award Honor
Freshman Brenton Bacon (Perth, Australia/Christ Church Grammer) of the 2005-06 Ferris State University men's tennis team was honored as the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) National Rookie Player of the Year in an announcement made by the organization in conjunction with the NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Tennis Championships, which are currently taking place May 10-13 in Kansas City, Mo.
A 2006 All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) First Team honoree, Bacon also received the ITA’s 2006 Great Lakes Region Rookie Player of the Year Award honor. He previously was recognized as the GLIAC Freshman of the Year as well.
The ITA's other national men's tennis award winners included Senior Player of the Year Matias Oddone of Drury (Mo.), Armstrong Atlantic State's (Ga.) Davor Zink as the Player To Watch recipient and Sebastian Niedermayer of Eckerd (Fla.) as the Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award winner. Amine Boustani of Drury received the Wilson/ITA Men's Tennis National Coach of the Year Award.
The 6-0 Bacon posted a team-best 18-5 overall singles mark this campaign, including a 9-4 mark at the number one flight in dual match competition during his initial Bulldog campaign. Bacon also tallied a 30-3 overall doubles record and was ranked 14th in the latest (April 10) Fila Division II National Singles Rankings along with third in the Great Lakes Regional listing.
Bacon and senior Mark Hammelman (Brookfield, Wis.) compiled a 22-2 dual record at the top doubles spot this year and were a perfect 7-0 in GLIAC regular-season action. The duo was the region's top-ranked tandem and listed seventh in the nation according to the latest rankings. Bacon also reached the singles quarterfinal round and advanced to the doubles semifinals at the ITA Great Lakes Region Championships held last fall (Sept. 23-25) in Midland, Mich. He claimed top individual flight championships in both the Bulldog Team Invitational (Sept. 17-18) and the Chicago State "Windy City" Fall Invitational (Sept. 30-Oct. 2) held earlier this year.
This spring, Bacon recorded a 4-3 overall record against individuals ranked regionally while posting a 2-3 mark against individuals featured in the national singles rankings. Among his biggest triumphs this campaign was a 6-4, 4-6, 11-9 victory over then sixth-ranked Niedermayer on March 9 in St. Petersburg, Fla. Bacon and Hammelman's 30 doubles wins this year tied for the third-most single-season doubles victories in school history.
The Bulldog men’s tennis team advanced to the NCAA-II Tournament for the ninth-straight year and 12th time in school history during the 2005-06 campaign under head coach Dave Ramos. Ferris State, which was ranked 33rd in the latest (April 28) Fila Division II Collegiate National Rankings, placed second overall at the GLIAC Tournament this season. The Bulldogs recorded a 16-8 overall record, including a second-place 6-1 mark in league action.
As the governing body of collegiate tennis, the ITA promotes both the athletic and academic achievements of the collegiate tennis community. The ITA, which was founded in 1956 and is based in Skillman, N.J., administers numerous regional and national championships, the ITA Collegiate Summer Circuit, presented by the United States Tennis Association, and the Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings for men’s and women’s tennis at the NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and junior college levels. The ITA also has a comprehensive awards program for players and coaches to honor excellence in academics, leadership and sportsmanship.
Please visit the ITA website at the link below for a complete list of award recipients:
http://www.itatennis.com/
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