Peter Nagy Headlines Islanders on All-Southland Teams

Texas A&M – Corpus Christi men's tennis player Peter Nagy was named the Freshman of the Year, First Team All-Southland Conference at No. 2 singles and second team at No. 1 doubles with teammate Aurelien Tave by a vote of the Southland Conference coaches and sports information directors, it was announced on Thursday.

"Peter deserves this honor, he played the whole second half of the season with a cast on his left hand, and never made any excuses, he just fought every point and showed unbelievable courage and character," said Director of Tennis Steve Moore. "It's one thing to try to play with a cast on your hand, it's another thing to never use it as an excuse and just grind until you find a way to win."

Nagy was the only Islanders player to receive first team honors, but was one of seven members of the Southland Conference Champions to earn all-conference recognition, tops among league teams. In addition to the players, Moore was named the Coach of the Year for the sixth-straight season.

In addition to Nagy on the first team at No. 2 singles, senior Aurelien Tave was named second team at both No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles with Nagy as his doubles partner.

Sophomore Matt Westmoreland was second team at No. 3 singles, while two freshmen, Fernando Llorens at No. 5, and Pietro Jordao at No. 6 singles, were also named to the second team.

Rounding out the honors were Andrew Maingot and Alex Pavlov, with the duo earning Second Team All-Southland honors at No. 3 doubles.

The combined efforts of the seven players recognized, and the others who were not, helped the Islanders to their fifth-straight Southland Conference Championship and No. 1 seed in the conference tournament in 2012.

Despite not having just one first team member, the Islanders continued their streak of Southland titles due to the type of mentality instilled in them by Moore. Despite winning his sixth Coach of the Year award in a row, Moore acknowledges that there is much more that goes into the continued success than just his direction.

"Honestly, I felt Jeff Kader from UTSA deserved this award this year," said Moore. "I thought he was the coach of the year.

"I would like to recognize however, Goncalo Figueiredo, Jose Zunino, Megan Harless and Laurent Montoisy, they are the greatest group of coaches that a coach could ever ask to work with. They pour their heart and soul into this team in so many ways. They all played here, and this program is so special to them, so I'd like to take just a moment to recognize them, as well as the people that make our team success possible."

In addition to the coaching staff and players, Moore also knows that their job is made much easier by the people in the athletic department that do the administrative things that need to be done, while letting Moore, his coaches and players focus on tennis.

"I also want to give a heartfelt thanks to the people that help our program and make our success possible," said Moore. "I'd like to thank the president, Dr. Flavius Killebrew and Dr. Trent Hill for their support of athletics.

"I am so happy to have Scott Lazenby as our full-time athletic director, he has been so pivotal in our team success with his support and guidance over the years.

"I'd also like to single out our trainer, Kali Forrero, who did an extremely great job managing a lot of injuries this year and keeping us healthy.

"I'd like to also thank Josh Brown, Matt Brady and Amber Sleek for the great work they did for our team. Richie Burnett, our strength coach, also did a great job for us.

"I'm blessed to work in an athletic department that is a family, there are a lot of people that pour their heart and time into making this team successful that don't get recognized enough, so I'd like to thank all those people, including Jennifer Baker, Kayleigh McCauley, Alfonso Ramos, Kristopher Scheneman, Mark Bohling, Deanna Novosad, Amy Robertson, Olympia Webb, Jerry Hilker, Ed Posaski, Megan Allen, Samantha Thomas, Sean Kelly, Joe Kaminski, Suzette Hamer, Marc Johnson, Jason Hall, Arthur Hass and Swint Friday.

"Finally, I'd like to thank Thomas J. Henry, whose exceptional generosity has given our team the most incredibly special place to play. Our program is blessed to be surrounded by so many good people."

The men's tennis team will begin their defense of the 2011 tournament title on Friday, April 27. The Islanders will be looking to win their sixth tournament overall, and make back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Championships for just the second time in school history. They first must get by a very tough UTSA team in the first round, which has a 10 a.m. start time at the Schlief Tennis Center.

For all the latest on Islanders Tennis, follow the team on Twitter (@IslandersTennis), like them on Facebook (Islanders Tennis) and visit www.GoIslanders.com. 

2011-12 All-Southland Conference Men's Tennis Teams
First Team All-Southland Conference

Player of the Year – Mindaugas Celedinas, UT Arlington

Freshman of the Year – Peter Nagy, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Newcomer of the Year – Soren Goritzka, UT Arlington

Coach of the Year – Steve Moore, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi