All-Conference Team

April 19, 2007

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - For the second year in a row, Charlotte junior Roy Sichel has been named the Atlantic 10's men's tennis Most Outstanding Performer in voting conducted among the Conference's head coaches following the Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Championship.

In that same vote, Chris Chirico of Saint Joseph's was named Most Outstanding Rookie Performer and Charlotte head coach Jim Boykin was tabbed as Coach of the Year. Charlotte's Dorian Host was selected as the Student-Athlete of the Year in a separate vote of the Conference's sports information directors.

At first singles and second doubles, Sichel helped lead the 49ers to a first-place finish at the 2007 Atlantic 10 Men's Tennis Championship, held Apr.5-7 at the Club 4 Life in Monroeville, Pa. Sichel, who hails from Ramat Hisharon, Israel, did not lose a singles match in the Championship, earning victories over Jarrett Chirico of Saint Joseph's (3-6, 6-4, 6-3) and Xavier's Doug Matthews (6-3, 6-2). His singles match against St. Bonaventure was not played to a finish. Sichel also teamed with Darren Mansell to go 2-1 at second doubles, defeating St. Bonaventure (9-7) and Xavier (8-4) after losing to Saint Joseph's (6-8).

Chirico, a freshman from Sarasota, FL, garnered Most Outstanding Rookie laurels for winning three of his singles matches and all four of his first doubles tilts while teaming with his brother, Jarrett. Chirico posted singles wins against Richmond's Chris Louis (6-0, 6-0), Charlotte's Ryan Johnson (6-2, 6-3), and Duquesne's Adam Townsend (6-3, 6-0). In doubles play, he and his brother recorded wins against Richmond (8-1 and 8-0), Charlotte (8-3), and Duquesne (8-1).

Joining Sichel and Chris Chirico on the All-Conference first-team are Darren Mansell of Charlotte; Dayton's Tom Murphy; Michael Ortega of Duquesne; George Washington's Mustafa Gencsoy; Alejandro Nery of St. Bonaventure; Jarrett Chirico of Saint Joseph's; Temple's Nathan Spunda; and Xavier's Ra'ees Ismail, Doug Matthews, and Jeremy Miller. Murphy is on the A-10 All-Conference team for the fourth straight year; Gencsoy and Nery are honored for the third year in a row; Sichel, Matthews, and Miller earn honors for the second time.

The All-Conference second-team consists of Dorian Host and Aljoscha Jelinek of Charlotte; Dayton's James O'Connell (his second All-Conference honor) and Michael Rohana; Mark Maciuch of Duquesne; George Washington's Brandon Harris and Sam Salyer; Andrew Hart and Diego Valdenegro of St. Bonaventure; Felipe Acosta and Marcus Fadul of Saint Louis; Temple's Daniel Davis; and J.T. Torbeck of Xavier.

Host, who was named to the All-Conference second-team, earns Student-Athlete of the Year honors. The senior from Rijeka, Croatia, recorded the 49ers' match-clinching victory in Charlotte's A-10 Championship victory over Xavier, which propelled Charlotte to its first-ever league title and NCAA Tournament bid. A member of the Academic All-Conference team last season, Host recorded his fourth straight season of double-figure victories with 13 singles win, while his 55 career singles wins tie him for the 10th highest single-season total in school history. An international business and finance major, Host sports a 3.81 cumulative grade point average.

Joining Host on the Academic All-Conference team are All-Conference honorees Sichel, Ismail, Miller, and Salyer, as well as Matt Gordon and Adam Reeb of Saint Louis. Miller is on the Academic All-Conference team for the third time, while Salyer and Sichel join Host in making their second appearances on the team.

Boykin was named Coach of the Year guiding Charlotte to its first-ever A-10 title and the subsequent automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Entering the Championship as the top seed, the 49ers captured wins over Saint Joseph's (4-3), St. Bonaventure (4-0), and Xavier (4-3) en route to the title. Boykin, who is in his 14th season at Charlotte, is the program's all-time winningest coach. He is a 1967 graduate of Appalachian State.