Ichabods' Vliegenberg repeats as MVP selection, Ward named 1st team
April 30, 2007

All-MIAA Men's Tennis Team announced

SBU has first-team choices in four flights -- including three unanimous selections

(OVERLAND PARK, Kan.) -- No. 33 Southwest Baptist had first-team selections in the top three singles flights as well as at No. 1 doubles on the All-MIAA men's tennis team as voted on by the conference coaches.

Freshman Alex Kacamakis was the unanimous choice at No. 1 singles, shared Most Valuable Player honors with junior Rutger Vliegenberg of MIAA champion and No. 26 Washburn (16-2, 2-2 MIAA), and was the unanimous choice as conference Freshman of the Year.

Kacamakis was listed 21st in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division II singles ranking (released April 27), while Vliegenberg, the second-team All-MIAA choice at No. 1 singles and 2006 MVP, was 28th.

Other Bearcat unanimous choices included sophomore Agustin Mollar at No. 3 singles and the duo of sophomore Emilio El Alabi and Daniel Prerad at No. 1 doubles. El Alabi also earned first-team honors at No. 2 singles for SBU (10-10, 3-1 MIAA), while Prerad won the Sportsmanship Award for the second time in as many years.

The MIAA champion Ichabods had only two first-team selections -- both were unanimous choices. Freshman Ryan Ward earned honors at No. 4 singles and teamed with sophomore Drew Hanson to get consensus first-team recognition at No. 3 doubles.

No. 32 Northwest Missouri State (13-6, 4-0 MIAA) rounded out the first team with junior Lucas Ariboni repeating as a unanimous first-team choice at No. 5 singles, junior Jake Saulsbury earning honors at No. 6 singles, and the Spanish duo of senior Pablo Acebedo and sophomore Daniel Usieto the unanimous choice at No. 2 doubles.

The Northwest Bearcats also earned second-team selections in four flights -- Acebedo at No. 2 singles, senior Chris Smith at No. 3 singles, Smith and Saulsbury at No. 1 doubles and Ariboni and freshman Felipe Gennari at No. 3 doubles.

Prerad was a second-team choice at No. 4 singles while sophomore Alan Mohadeb earned the same at No. 5. Kacamakis and Mollar wrapped up SBU's trio of second-team honors by securing such at No. 2 doubles.

Vliegenberg was joined on the second team by junior teammate Andrew Plum, who earned honors at No. 6 singles.

The coach of the Ichabods, Jen Hastert, was the unanimous selection of her peers as Coach of the Year. This is the first time she's claimed the men's award outright -- she shared it in 2004 with SBU's John Bryant.

All five MIAA men's tennis teams will be in action in the first round of the NCAA Division II Championships starting Thursday (May 3). WU and Emporia State (10-6, 0-4 MIAA) will meet in Topeka, while Northwest hosts St. Cloud (Minn.) State and SBU battles Truman (13-8, 1-3 MIAA) in Maryville.

-- MIAA --

First Team Fl. Yr. Hometown
+Alex Kacamakis, SBU 1S Fr. Budapest, Hungary
#Emilio El Alabi, SBU 2S/1D So. Bahia Blanca, Argentina
+Agustin Mollar, SBU 3S So. Tucamen, Argentina
+¦Ryan Ward, WU 4S/3D Fr. Corpus Christi, Texas
+Lucas Ariboni, NWMSU 5S Jr. Sao Paulo, Brazil
Jake Saulsbury, NWMSU 6S Jr. Lexington, Neb.
#Daniel Prerad, SBU 1D Jr. Perth, Australia
#Pablo Acebedo, NWMSU 2D Sr. Barcelona, Spain
#Daniel Usieto, NWMSU 2D So. Barcelona, Spain
#Drew Hanson, WU 3D So. Topeka, Kan.

+=Unanimous selection in singles #=Unanimous selection in doubles

Second Team
Rutger Vliegenberg, WU 1S Jr. Mierlo, The Netherlands
Pablo Acebedo, NWMSU 2S Sr. Barcelona, Spain
Chris Smith, NWMSU 3S/1D Sr. Johannesburg, So. Africa
Daniel Prerad, SBU 4S Jr. Perth, Australia
Alan Mohadeb, SBU 5S So. Buenos Aires, Argentina
Andrew Plum, WU 6S Jr. Dallas, Texas
Jake Saulsbury, NWMSU 1D Jr. Lexington, Neb.
Alex Kacamakis, SBU 2D Fr. Budapest, Hungary
Agustin Mollar, SBU 2D So. Tucamen, Argentina
Lucas Ariboni, NWMSU 3D Jr. Sao Paulo, Brazil
Felipe Gennari, NWMSU 3D Fr. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Honorable Mention
Ryan Cope, TSU 1S/1D Sr. Leawood, Kan.
Daniel Usieto, NWMSU 1S So. Barcelona, Spain
Drew Hanson, WU 2S So. Topeka, Kan.
Nathan Martin, WU 3S/2D Jr. Salina, Kan.
Felipe Gennari, NWMSU 4S Fr. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Cody Pusateri, TSU 4S Jr. Springfield, Mo.
Kyle Schlotz, TSU 5S Fr. St. Louis, Mo.
Ben Rusk, TSU 6S Fr. Dubuque, Iowa
Peter Bracha, TSU 1D Fr. Ames, Iowa
Andrew Plum, WU 1D Jr. Dallas, Texas
Rutger Vliegenberg, WU 1D Jr. Mierlo, The Netherlands
Brad Johnston, WU 2D Jr. Topeka, Kan.
Kevin Arnhold, ESU 3D Sr. Hutchinson, Kan.
Tim Garner, ESU 3D So. Gardner, Kan.

Co-Most Valuable Players: Alex Kacamakis, SBU & Rutger Vliegenberg, WU
Freshman of the Year: Alex Kacamakis, SBU (unanimous choice)
Sportsmanship Award: Daniel Prerad, SBU
Coach of the Year: Jen Hastert, WU (unanimous choice)

Legend: Flights are abbreviated by number and event
(e.g., 1S=No. 1 singles, 2D=No. 2 doubles).