Brevard’s MacNeil Tops List of SAC Men’s Tennis Award Winners

ROCK HILL, S.C. - After going a combined 17-1 in singles and doubles play in conference matches, Brevard sophomore Sam MacNeil has been named the 2012 SAC Men's Tennis Player of the Year, leading a list of award winners that was announced on Tuesday.

MacNeil, who was the SAC Freshman of the Year a season ago, finished the year at 16-6 overall and 9-0 in the SAC in singles playing in BC's No. 1 position.

MacNeil also earned All-Conference First Team Doubles honors with teammate Beau Wills. The duo went 17-5 overall and 8-1 in the conference in the regular season, and is 9-1 in its last 10 matches.

Wills was a standout in singles play as well this season, going 15-7 overall and 7-2 in the SAC playing primarily at No. 2 to earn All-Conference Singles First Team honors.

[RELATED: SAC Tennis Championship Central]

A pair of student-athletes from regular-season champion Wingate - Flavio Rathsam and Drew Owen - earned first team All-Conference singles accolades. Rathsam went 5-3 in SAC play at the No. 1 position for the Bulldogs, while Owen finished conference play with a 7-2 mark in the No. 2 slot.

They were joined on the First Team by Lincoln Memorial's Phillip Hoffman, who went 16-1 overall and 8-1 in the SAC in the No. 1 position.

Anderson's Stan Atema, the Southeast Region's 18th-ranked player according to the ITA, rounded out the All-Conference Singles First Team after going 5-3 in league matches.

Completing the All-SAC Doubles First Team was the LMU tandem of Hoffman and Tom Goossens and the Newberry pair of Michael Saunders and Vinicius Botelho.

Hoffman and Goossens went 12-3 overall and 7-2 in SAC play, while Sanders and Botelho finished 15-7 overall and 7-2 in the league.

Saunders and Botelho were also named to the All-SAC Singles Second Team, joining Wingate Matt Lichtenstein, Mars Hill's Lucas Simm and Euquerio Guerrero and SAC Freshman of the Year Lukas Winkelmann from Tusculum.

Winkelmann went 11-5 overall and 5-4 in league play during the regular season, playing most at No. 1 for the Pioneers.

The All-SAC Doubles Second Team was made up of Wingate's Rathsam and Neal Towlson, Anderson's Atema and Daniel Gonzales, Mars Hill's Guerrero and Enrico Patriarca, and Mars Hill's Lacus Simm and Guilherme Lima.

Finally, Wingate's Michael Cabana was selected as the SAC Men's Tennis Coach of the Year for the third time in his career after leading Wingate to a perfect 9-0 season in league play. The Bulldogs enter the SAC Championship at 16-6 overall.

SAC Player of the Year: Sam MacNeil, BC
SAC Freshman of the Year: Lukas Winkelmann, TC
SAC Coach of the Year: Michael Cabana

2012 All-SAC Men's Tennis Team

First Team

Singles
Sam MacNeil, BC
Phillip Hoffman, LMU
Stan Atema, AU
Flavio Rathsam, WU
Beau Wills, BC
Drew Owen, WU

Doubles
Sam MacNeil/Beau Wills, BC
Michael Saunders/Vinicius Botelho, NEW
Phillip Hoffman/Tom Goossens, LMU

Second Team

Singles
Michael Saunders, NEW
Lukas Winkelmann, TC
Matt Lichtenstein, WU
Lucas Simm, MHC
Euquerio Guerrero, MHC
Vinicius Botelho, NEW

Doubles
Flavio Rathsam/Neal Towlson, WU
Stan Atema/Daniel Gonzales, AU
Euquerio Guerrero/Enrico Patriarca, MHC*
Lucas Simm/Guilherme Lima, MHC*

* tied for final second-team doubles selection