CACC Announces Men’s Tennis All-Conference and Major Award Winners
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – For the third consecutive year, Concordia College senior Daniele Piludu has been named the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Men’s Tennis Player of the Year as announced today by Commissioner Daniel Mara. Piludu’s mentor, Neil Tarangioli, was honored by the conference sports information directors as the top coach. Caldwell College’s Maximilian Ziegler and Chestnut Hill College’s Mariano Porter share the Rookie of the Year honors, while Caldwell is once again honored with the Team Sportsmanship Award.
Piludu continued to dominate the CACC circuit by posting an undefeated record in both singles and doubles play. He is currently ranked #2 in the East Region at #1 singles and #6 Nationally according to the ITA rankings. At #1 doubles, he is ranked #1 in the East Region and #2 Nationally by teaming up with fellow CACC First Team All-Conference selection, Benas Majauskas. Piludu is the most decorated men’s tennis player in the history of the CACC with his three Player of the Year honors and the 2011 Rookie of the Year citation. He was named Player of the Week twice this season (3/10, 3/17).
Clipper head coach Neil Tarangioli has now earned his 17th Coach of the Year honor over his 34-year coaching career at Concordia. His squad is currently ranked #1 in the East Region and #6 Nationally and is searching for its fifth-straight CACC tournament championship this weekend. The Clipper skipper claims seven all-conference citations and one honorable mention on this year’s all-star list. Tarangioli claimed his 500th men’s tennis coaching victory against Valdosta State on April 4.
Chestnut Hill freshman Mariano Porter enjoyed a spectacular regular season with the Griffins, posting an overall mark of 15-2 and suffering his only conference loss to Piludu. Porter is currently ranked #4 in #1 singles in the East Region. He also posted a 15-4 mark combined at #1 and #2 doubles. Porter was named CACC Player and Rookie of the Week on April 14 and Rookie of the Week on March 10 and 17.
Caldwell’s Maximillian Ziegler has also enjoyed an outstanding year in his first year with the Cougars. He was named rookie of the week on April 7 when he posted a perfect 3-0 week in singles play. Playing a combination of #2 and #3 singles, Ziegler went 10-1 with his one blemish coming against fellow CACC All-Conference First Team member Tomasz Olfans of Concordia. He registered a 6-5 record for Caldwell at #1 doubles.
Concordia’s Ofir Ginat and Juuso Ojanen join Olfans, Maujaskas, Piludu, Porter and Ziegler on the CACC All-Conference First Team. Named to the CACC All-Conference Second Team were Pulat Babadjanov and Rafael Ferreira, Concordia; Hugo Castalan, Caldwell; Mike Humes and Steven Say, Chestnut Hill; and Jake Sosonkin, University of the Sciences. Ricardo Frey of Concordia and Steven Galerkin of USciences were named Honorable Mention.
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 14 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell College, Chestnut Hill College, Concordia (NY) College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician College, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Nyack College, Philadelphia University, Post University of Waterbury, University of the Sciences and Wilmington University.
CACC Men’s Tennis All-Conference Teams
Ofir Ginat, Concordia |
Sr. |
Raa’nana, Israel |
Juuso Ojanen, Concordia |
Jr. |
Varkaus, Finland |
Tomasz Olfans, Concordia |
Jr. |
Opole, Poland |
Benas Maujaskas, Concordia |
Jr. |
Vilnius, Lithuania |
Daniele Piludu, Concordia |
Sr. |
Cagliari, Italy |
Mariano Porter, Chestnut Hill |
Fr. |
Cuernavaca, Mexico |
Maximilian Ziegler, Caldwell |
Fr. |
Erfurt, Germany |
Pulat Babadjanov, Concordia |
Fr. |
Tashkent, Uzbekistan |
Hugo Castalan, Caldwell |
Fr. |
Rouen, France |
Rafael Ferreira, Concordia |
Fr. |
Sao Paulo, Brazil |
Mike Humes, Chestnut Hill |
Jr. |
Mount Laurel, N.J. |
Steven Say, Chestnut Hill |
Jr. |
Cannes, France |
Jake Sosonkin, USciences |
So. |
Brooklyn, N.Y. |
Honorable Mention
Ricardo Frey, Concordia |
Sr. |
Curitiba, Brazil |
Steven Galerkin, USciences |
Jr. |
San Francisco, Calif. |
Player of the Year: Daniele Piludu, Concordia
Co-Rookies of the Year: Maximilian Ziegler, Caldwell and Mariano Porter, Chestnut Hill
Coach of the Year: Neil Tarangioli,
Concordia
Team Sportsmanship Award: Caldwell College