For Immediate Release

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April 18, 2012

South Easton, Mass. – Adelphi University junior Andreas Hammar was named the 2012 Northeast-10 Conference Vern Cox Men's Tennis Player of the Year, it was announced today. Hammar helped lead the Panthers to a 7-4 NE-10 mark, and a 9-11 record overall.

The Adelphi junior finished the season with a mark of 16-5 overall, and 12-0 in conference play, including his win in yesterday's 2012 Northeast-10 Conference Championship First Round match. Adelphi was defeated by Stonehill in the conference playoffs, 5-4.

Hammar also earned First Team All-Conference at number one singles as he recorded a perfect mark during the Northeast-10 regular season, going 11-0 at the top flight.

Stonehill College's Eric Ringstad was named the 2012 Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Year. Ringstad has posted an 18-6 mark overall, including a 9-2 record at number one singles in conference play during the regular season. He was named Northeast-10 Rookie of the Week eight times during his first year playing for the Skyhawks.

Ringstad also earned Northeast-10 Conference Third Team honors at number one singles for his play throughout the season.

Merrimack College head coach Sean Tully was named the 2012 Northeast-10 Conference Men's Tennis Coach of the Year. In his first year at Merrimack, Tully led the Warriors to a 15-7 overall record, and a perfect 11-0 mark in conference play.

Merrimack is the top seed in the Men's Tennis Championship and will host a semifinal match against Stonehill Thursday with the winner advancing to the championship, which will take place Saturday afternoon.

Also announced today was the full list of 2012 Northeast-10 All-Conference teams. To see the full list of All-Conference selections and major award winners, see below.

The Vern Cox Player of the Year Award is named in honor of the former longtime Springfield College head coach Vern Cox.

The Northeast-10 is an association of 16 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that are committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,500 student-athletes. Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in Conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.

2012 Northeast-10 Conference Men's Tennis All-Conference Teams

First Team Name School Year Hometown
No. 1 Singles Andreas Hammar Adelphi Junior Norrtälje, Sweden
No. 2 Singles Juan Arango-Campo So. New Hampshire Sophomore Armenia Quindio, Colo.
No. 3 Singles Petar Golijanin Merrimack Junior Novi Sad, Serbia
No. 4 Singles Bryan Kallenberg Adelphi Junior Port Washington, N.Y.
No. 5 Singles Alec Spycher Bentley Senior Sarasota, Fla.
No. 6 Singles Andrew Waddington Bentley Sophomore Granby, Conn

Second Team Name School Year Hometown
No. 1 Singles Lucas Wever Bentley Junior Sao Paolo, Brazil
No. 2 Singles Max Eppley Merrimack Senior Malaga, Spain
No. 3 Singles Rodrigo Ribeiro Bentley Junior Sao Paolo, Brazil
No. 4 Singles Vince Bellino Merrimack Freshman Amesbury, Mass.
No. 5 Singles Sean Pahler Merrimack Senior Rumson, N.J.
No. 6 Singles Chris Toegemann Merrimack Junior Narragansett, R.I.

Third Team Name School Year Hometown
No. 1 Singles Eric Ringstad Stonehill Freshman Fairbanks, Alaska
No. 2 Singles Zach Tuckman Bentley Senior Kinnelon, N.J.
No. 3 Singles Alex Mukdaprakorn So. New Hampshire Sophomore Hartford, Conn
No. 4 Singles Jimmy Rindo Bentley Sophomore Lowell, Mass
No. 5 Singles Brad Malenich So. New Hampshire Freshman Sharon, Mass
No. 6 Singles Brett Armstrong Stonehill Sophomore Manville, R.I.

First Team Name School
No. 1 Doubles Juan Arango-Campo / Alex Mukdaprakorn So. New Hampshire
No. 2 Doubles Chris Barnhart / Vince Bellino Merrimack
Mitch Dobek / Mike Wallace So. New Hampshire
No. 3 Doubles Petar Golijanin / Chris Toegemann Merrimack

Second Team Name School
No. 1 Doubles Max Eppley / Sean Pahler Merrimack
No. 2 Doubles Nick Hyzak / Eric Ringstad Stonehill
No. 3 Doubles Chiwete Njokanma / Ryan White Adelphi

Third Team Name School
No. 1 Doubles Aaron Bergeron / Chris Martin Stonehill
No. 2 Doubles Matt Drolet / Pat Murray Assumption
No. 3 Doubles James Shelp / Daryl Johnson Le Moyne

All Rookie School
James Worrall American Int'l
Raghav Tanna Bentley
Vince Bellino Merrimack
Michael Wallace So. New Hampshire
Nick Schwab Saint Anselm
Eric Ringstad* Stonehill
* indicates unanimous selection

Vern Cox Player of the Year: Andreas Hammar, Adelphi
Rookie of the Year: Eric Ringstad, Stonehill
Coach of the Year: Sean Tully, Merrimack

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