Amherst’s Lerner, Middlebury’s Olson Share Top Honors

HADLEY, Mass. – Seniors Zack Lerner (Scarsdale, N.Y.) of Amherst and Conrad Olson (Waterloo, Belgium) of Middlebury have been chosen by the conference coaches as the 2009 NESCAC Players of the Year. Both Lerner and Olson led their respective squads to the 2009 NESCAC Men’s Tennis Championship this past weekend at Williams, with the Panthers edging the Lord Jeffs by a 5-3 score for the conference crown.

In addition to being named Co-Player of the Year, Lerner picked up All-Conference First Team Singles honors on the strength of a 12-4 dual match record at #1 singles. Over his tenure with the Lord Jeffs, Lerner has amassed a 47-15 mark in dual match play. While it is the third consecutive year that Lerner has been named to the First Team Singles, he also earned First Team Doubles for the first time in his career along with sophomore teammate Moritz Koeing (Hamburg, Germany). The duo are a stellar 18-3 at #1 doubles heading into this weekend’s NCAA Tournament.

The 2006 NESCAC Rookie of the Year, Olson received First Team Singles recognition for the first time ever after netting Second Team Singles in 2006 and again in 2007. Olson is 11-3 at the #1 spot in dual match play, going an impressive 40-8 during his time with the Panthers. Olson and Lerner may have the opportunity to face one another for a third time this season if both Middlebury and Amherst advance to the NCAA quarterfinals. Olson is 2-0 against Lerner this spring, as the most recent match was a marathon 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (8) win for Olson that gave the Panthers the decisive fifth point for the 2009 NESCAC title.

Returning at singles from the 2008 First Team was Bowdoin sophomore Stephen Sullivan (Coral Gables, Fla.). Sullivan, the NESCAC Rookie of the Year a season ago, has followed up a stellar 18-5 freshman campaign with an 11-5 record at #1 singles for the Polar Bears. Joining Sullivan from Bowdoin on the First Team at Doubles were junior Jamie Neely (Quincy, Mass.) and freshman Oscar Pena (Miami, Fla.). Neely and Pena have been a powerful combination for the Polar Bears, going 8-1 at #1 doubles in support of an at-large berth for Bowdoin in the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

Juniors Spencer Feldman (Upper Brookville, N.Y.) of Trinity and Nick Lebedoff (Minneapolis, Minn.) of Williams earned All-NESCAC honors at singles for the second-straight year. Feldman, a member of last spring’s First Team, went 8-6 in dual match play at #1 singles this season. Lebedoff, a Second Team Singles selection in 2008, holds an 8-5 mark at #1 heading into the NCAA Tournament.

Rounding out the 2009 NESCAC All-Conference First Team was the Bates tandem of senior Ben Stein (Pelham, N.Y.) and junior Amrit Rupasinghe (Colombo, Sri Lanka ), both of whom received Second Team recognition in 2008. The First Team Doubles pair recorded a 12-3 record at the #1 spot in match play and have gone 20-6 overall. They will be one of four NESCAC doubles teams in pursuit of the NCAA title on May 22-24. Stein was also chosen for the Singles First Team, as he went 10-4 at #1 singles in dual matches. Stein along with Trinity’s Feldman were two of the eight NESCAC players selected on Wednesday to participate in the NCAA Individual Championship, all of whom earned All-NESCAC in some form this year.

Rookie of the Year went to Amherst freshman Austin Chafetz (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.). At 15-1 in dual match play and 16-3 overall, Chafetz has spent a majority of his first season with the Lord Jeffs playing at #2 singles. He was also chosen as a member of the Second Team Singles.

Colby senior Bryan Brown (Bangor, Maine) came away with the Clarence Chaffee Sportsmanship Award. The Clarence Chaffee Award is given annually to the individual who best combined and displayed a high standard of tennis coupled with the highest levels of sportsmanship. Colby’s captain in 2008-09, Brown demonstrated the highest respect for his opponents and for the game while posting a 10-8 overall record during his final season with the Mules.

Chris Garner of Amherst was selected as NESCAC Coach of the Year. Now in his second season with the Lord Jeffs, Garner’s squad has gone 24-6 while reaching the final of the 2009 NESCAC Men’s Tennis Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.