Men's Tennis | 4/27/2012 12:29:00 PM
McPherson, Kan. – The men’s tennis team at McPherson College was awarded with seven KCAC honors on Friday, April 27 for their performances in the 2012 season.
Mark Mahan (Fullerton, Calif.) and Vyacheslav Bukatin (Moscow, Russia) were both named to the All-KCAC first team. Mahan received the “Newcomer of the Year” award as well; he joined the Bulldog squad as a sophomore after spending a year at Cypress College in California. Mahan was a unanimous vote for both first team All-KCAC and “Newcomer of the Year.” In singles this season, he is 12-5 overall and 4-1 in the KCAC. His doubles record for the year is 12-4, 5-1 in the conference.
“Mark has continued to impress me as both a player and an individual,” said head coach Jeff Benito. “I can't express how proud I am of him and I'm excited to see what he can accomplish in the years to come.”
Bukatin is a junior and in addition to receiving his second-straight first team all-conference honors, was also named the KCAC’s “Scholar-Athlete of the Year.” To be eligible for the “Scholar-Athlete of the Year” award, an athlete must have been on the All-KCAC first team the previous year and their GPA and playing ability is taken into consideration. Bukatin is 9-6 this season, 4-1 in the conference in singles and in doubles is 4-1 against KCAC opponents and 13-4 overall. He has maintained a 4.0 grade point average throughout his four years as a Bulldog.
Coach Benito said that, “Slav is truly deserving of the ‘Scholar-Athlete of the Year’ award, he works extremely hard in the classroom and is a talent on the tennis court. “
Thiago Da Silva (Novo Hamburgo, Brazil), Torsten Keil-Long (Claremont, Calif.) and Sean De Young (Anaheim, Calif.) were placed on the All-KCAC second team. Da Silva has an 11-6 overall, 4-1 in conference record in singles and in doubles is 11-6 on the year, 3-2 in the KCAC. Keil-Long is 10-5 this season in singles, 3-1 in conference and 12-5 in doubles overall, 4-2 against KCAC foes. De Young posted a 10-3 season record, 3-1 in the conference in singles, 15-4 overall and 5-1 when facing KCAC challengers in doubles.
“Thiago, Torsten, and Sean have been the backbone of our team,” said Benito. “Their contribution, along with that of Jonathan Wickramsinghe (Hesperia, Calif.) and Jordan Stewart (Sterling, Kan.), is immense and sometimes unheralded. They, along with the rest of the team, have really contributed to our success.
“I'm so very proud of every single member of our team. They have made my first season here at McPherson College both a joy and a success.”
Complete All-KCAC recipients can be found here.
Next up for these all-conference award winners and the rest of the KCAC tennis athletes is the KCAC Individual Tournament which is scheduled for April 28th in Salina, Kan.
