INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.
(GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Green Bay
men's tennis head coach Mark Thomas has been selected as the Horizon
League Men's Tennis Coach of the Year, while players Craig Cox, Erik Finkenbrink and Paul Swanson each earned Second Team All-League
honors, the conference office announced Thursday. All winners were recognized
at the annual Horizon League Tennis Awards Banquet Thursday night in
Indianapolis.
Thomas led the Phoenix to
a 15-7 overall record, including an impressive 6-1 mark against conference
opponents. Green Bay earned the No. 2 seed and a first round bye in the 2011
Horizon League Championships and will square off against Wright State on Friday
morning in the semifinals in Indianapolis. The third-year head coach enters the
conference tournament after guiding his team to victories in six of the last
seven regular season matches.
Cox, a sophomore from
Surrey, England, posted a 12-8 singles record on the year, including a 5-2
record in conference play. Cox played the majority of his singles matches in
the No. 3 spot, finishing the season with a four-match winning streak which
included Green Bay's lone victory against Marquette on April 10. The sophomore
also went 14-7 in doubles action on the season, going 5-2 in conference play.
Finkenbrink played all but
one singles match in the No. 1 spot for the Phoenix, facing the opponent's top
player on a regular basis. Despite the stiff competition, the sophomore from
Duelman, Germany finished the year with a winning singles record, earning 11
victories while dropping 10 decisions. In doubles play, Finkenbrink posted an
unbeaten 7-0 Horizon League record along with teammate Josh Oothoudt
(Minot, N.D.). The sophomore finished the regular season 17-5 overall in
doubles matches.
Swanson finished the year
with the team's best singles record at 16-6. The junior from Coon Rapids,
Minn., split time at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles spots for the Phoenix, earning
a 6-1 record in league play. Swanson also teamed up with Cox in doubles action
to post an unbeaten 4-0 record against league teams, with his overall doubles
record currently standing at 7-2. This marked the third consecutive season in
which Swanson was named to the All-Horizon League Second Team.
The second-seeded Phoenix
is set to face third-seeded Wright State Friday at 9:30 a.m. CT at North Central
High School in Indianapolis in the semifinals of the 2011 Horizon League
Championships. Green Bay is looking for its first conference title.
