Upstate Places Four on A-Sun Tennis All-Conference Teams
4/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Macon, Ga. – The USC Upstate men's tennis team was well represented on Wednesday when the Atlantic Sun announced its postseason All-Conference awards as Ramon Simonetti, Jamie Yates, Ankush Arora and Lenhard Haupt were recognized by the league.
Simonetti was named First Team All-Conference while Yates garnered Second Team All-Conference accolades at the number three singles position. Arora and Haupt were both selected to the All-Freshman Team. The duo of Simonetti and Arora were selected Second Team All-Conference playing at number one doubles.
Simonetti went 8-6 in singles competition with all eight victories coming at the number spot. He posted a 5-1 conference record and finished the regular season on a four-match winning streak. Simonetti went 7-3 in singles play over his final ten matches. He earned conference victories over North Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Lipscomb, Kennesaw State and NJIT. Simonetti concluded the year third among all conference players at number one singles in winning percentage.
Yates led the team this season in singles play with a 12-5 overall record and tied for the team-lead with a 5-1 conference mark. He posted his third straight season with at least 10 wins and finished the year on a three-match winning streak in conference play. Yates won six of his first seven matches to start the season playing primarily at number three and was 6-3 over his final ten matches. He ranked among the top players in the A-Sun this season in overall wins, winning percentage and wins playing at the number three spot. Yates recorded conference singles wins over North Florida, Stetson, Lipscomb, Kennesaw State and NJIT.
Arora tied for the team-lead among all newcomers with five singles victories. He earned all five wins playing at the number two singles position. Arora picked up two wins in conference play against Stetson and Lipscomb, and posted back-to-back singles victories over Stetson and Georgia Southern.
Haupt also tied with Arora for first on the team among all newcomers with five victories in singles play. He earned singles wins at the number one, two, three and four positions. Haupt posted two wins at the number four singles spot and also had two wins in conference play. He recorded conference singles wins over North Florida and Kennesaw State.
Playing together at the number one doubles position, Simonetti and Arora combined to go 5-4 overall while earning two conference wins. The duo earned conference doubles victories versus Lipscomb and Kennesaw State, while winning three of their final four matches of the season. Simonetti and Arora also had wins over Presbyterian College, Charlotte and Chattanooga.
Upstate begins its quest for an A-Sun championship Friday at 9 a.m. when the fourth-seeded Spartans face No. 5 seed Lipscomb in the conference tournament from the USC Upstate Tennis Complex.
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