Tennis team awards presented at annual Awards Dinner
Sophmores Dean O'Brien and Kelly Holtzhausen captured the Golden Eagle Awards as the Most Valuable Players on the Tennessee Tech tennis teams, while redshirt freshman Yianni Doropoulos received the prestigious Maverick Award.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech Tennis coach Dan Silverstein
announced the team honors for both his men's and women's squads at
the annual Team Awards Dinner Thursday night. Three new awards were
presented along with the Golden Eagle Award for both teams and the
Johnny Donnelly Maverick Award.
Sophmores Dean O'Brien and Kelly Holtzhausen captured the Golden
Eagle Award as the Most Valuable Players on their teams, while
redshirt freshman Yianni Doropoulos received the prestigious
Maverick Award.
"These awards were so difficult to decide," Silverstein said.
"Every player on the team could have gotten the awards. Every
single one has given something of themselves to this team and
program."
The Johnny Donnelly Maverick Award, named for the late Johnny
Donnelly, was presented by his parents, John and Marty Donnelly of
Cookeville. Johnny Donnelly was a true TTU sports fan who passed
away in October of 1998 after a long-fought battle with muscular
dystrophy. In 1999, he was first Golden Eagle fan to be inducted
into the Tech Sports Hall of Fame.
The award is given annually to a member of either the men’s
or women’s tennis team who exhibits the same kind of
determination that Johnny showed. Despite not being eligible to
compete this season, Doropoulos proved to be the ultimate team
player, according to Silverstein.
"Yianni was out there supporting both teams during the matches
from the sidelines, and he worked just as hard during practices as
anybody. He has given his heart and soul to this team, and the team
would have not been the same without him," Silverstein said.
The Golden Eagle Awards went to a pair of Golden Eagles players
that were at the top of their game from September to the OVC
Tournament.
For the men's team, O'Brien capped off a successful season in
which he became only the third Golden Eagle to earn a national
ranking with the highest at No. 102. In only the second match of
the season he defeated then No. 29 Clint Bowles of Florida State.
The Benmore, South Africa native went on to a an 18-2 record with a
perfect 8-0 mark in the OVC. He was named the past two years to the
All-OVC first-team and was named the 2009 OVC Player of the
Year.
Holtzhauzen, from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, started off the
spring with a 14-0 record before falling in only her first
three-set match of the spring. She helped Tech improve up to a tie
for third in the conference at 6-3, and earned first-team All-OVC
honors after going 8-1 in the conference. In the regular season she
downed the defending OVC Player of the Year from Jacksonville State
in straight sets to go along with a win against No. 6 West
Florida.
Silverstein introduced three new awards, presenting the Heart of a
Champion Award, the Impact Player Award, and the Academic Award for
each squad.
Justin Kirstein, a freshman from Johannesburg, South Africa,
captured the "Heart of a Champion Award" on the men's team, while
Katie Barnhill, a sophomore from New Braunfels, Texas, won the
award on the women's squad.
Not only was Kirstein the best freshman on the team, he proved to
be the top rookie in the Ohio Valley Conference. Going undefeated
in the OVC at 8-0, he earned second-team All-OVC honors and was
named the OVC Freshman of the Year. He clinched several wins for
the Golden Eagles, tallying a 15-5 record in singles and a 12-7 log
in doubles.
Barnhill stepped up and played three spots higher than she did a
year ago and helped her team to a tie for third in the conference
after finishing sixth last season.
The Impact Player Award, designed to go to a first-year player who
has the greatest impact on the squad, went to a pair of players
from Columbia, Laura Porras on the women's team and Oscar Pachon
for the men's team.
Porras, a freshman from Tabio, Colombia, came to Tech in January
and provided the depth the team was looking for. Her season
included a four-match win streak, all straight-sets wins. She
played even in her first season at 8-8, but dominated play in the
OVC with a 7-2 record.
A native of Bogota, Colombia, Pachon compiled a 15-4 record
playing primarily at number five. After starting the season slowly,
he rebounded and finished the spring on a 15-1 run including wins
over two players from nationally ranked teams. Among his triumphs
was a three-set, come-from-behind win over Georgia Tech. He was
pushed to three sets only four times all season.
Dr. Lance Jasitt, TTU Assistant Athletic Director for Academics,
was on hand to present the inaugural Academic Awards, which went to
freshman Joana Corkern from Bentonville, Ark., and Doropoulas.
Corkern owns a 3.50 GPA, while Doropoulos has fashioned a 3.75 GPA.
