Hawks receive GLVC Sportsmanship Award

The Rockhurst men’s tennis team has been selected by their peers as a recipient of the GLVC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Sportsmanship Award for the 2010-11 season.

The SAAC Sportsmanship Award is determined by votes of the GLVC member institutions' campus SAACs. The committees select their top three choices in each sport and base their decision on their view of sportsmanship. Each team that received a first-place vote received three points, second-place received two points and the third-place received one point. The GLVC sponsors the award in each of the league's 17 championship sports.

The Hawks claimed the GLVC Championship and a trip to the NCAA Division II Men’s Tennis Elite Eight. Rockhurst, led by GLVC Coach of the Year Carolina Mayorga-Perry, earned the award for men’s tennis for the first time.

Coach Mayorga-Perry earns Coach of the Year honors

Rockhurst's Carolina Mayorga-Perry has been named the GLVC Coach of the Year for men's tennis for the second time since 2009. She led the Hawks to their second GLVC Championship in the last four years.

Mayorga-Perry also received Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). She guided the Hawks to a No. 2 ranking in the ITA regional rankings and No. 32 ranking in the ITA national poll.

Hawks fall to third-ranked Concordia at NCAA National Championships

Rockhurst suffered a 5-1 loss to third-ranked Concordia (N.Y.) in the quarterfinals at the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis National Championships May 12 at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla. Seniors Ben and Zach Newell accounted for the Hawks' lone win of the match with a 9-8 win in No. 1 doubles. The 32nd-ranked Hawks end the season with a 22-4 record.

On May 11, Rockhurst posted a 5-0 victory over Nebraska-Kearney on the first day of the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis National Championships. Rockhurst jumped out to a 3-0 lead over Kearney by sweeping doubles. Ben and Zach Newell won their No. 1 doubles match 8-5. John Lazenby and Victor Klintcharov were 8-4 winners in No. 2 doubles, while Rodolfo Gauto-Mariotti and Pawel Grzegrzolka captured their No. 3 doubles match 8-3. Gauto-Mariotti won his No. 4 singles match, 6-2, 6-0, over Kearney's John Steinke. Grzegrzolka was a winner in No. 6 singles over UNK's Josh Smith, 6-2, 6-4. The other four singles matches were unfinished with Rockhurst leading in three of the matches.

The Hawks earned their first trip to the NCAA National Championships with a 5-3 win over 21st-ranked Northwood (Mich.) in the second round of the Midwest Regional May 2 at RU's Loyola Park Tennis Courts. Rockhurst clinched the match when Victor Klintcharov posted a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Northwood’s Ramazan Nureev in No. 3 singles. Rockhurst also got wins from John Lazenby in No. 2 singles and Zach Newell in No. 5 singles. The Hawks grabbed a 2-1 lead after doubles with wins in No. 1 and No. 2 doubles.