The Suffolk University Men's Tennis team swept the 2011 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) postseason awards list as the Rams took home 10 awards in total.
Head Coach Steve Counihan earned Coach of the Year honors for the second straight season guiding the Rams to a 12-1 record and third consecutive GNAC Championship. Counihan led the Rams to a first play finish in regular season play as Suffolk took all four of their league games. The lone blemish on the Suffolk season came in a 6-3 defeat to Babson College on April 21. The loss snapped the Rams 24-game winning streak that dated back to the 2009 season. Counihan, who also serves as Head Coach for the Women's Tennis team has now won three conference championship between the two sports since the 2007-08 academic calendar, despite a one year hiatus in 2008-09. Over the past two seasons the Men's team has won 23 of 24 contests.
Junior Sean Cullen (Medway, Mass.) earned GNAC Player of the Year honors. Cullen played primarily out of the top singles position this season for the Rams. In his first season with Suffolk, Cullen posted a 4-3 record in singles play, while also compiling a 7-1 record in doubles action alongside his partner junior Chris Staley (London, England). Along with earning top honors in the league, Cullen was also named a first team All-Conference selection, while both he and Staley were tabbed as the top doubles team in the GNAC this season.
Along with his doubles award, Staley also earned recognition as a first team All-Conference selection in singles play. Staley was victorious in 17 of 19 games played in both singles and doubles action this season. Aside from his seven wins with Cullen in doubles action, Staley combined for three more victorious with various partners during the year. In singles action, Staley posted a 7-1 overall record primarily playing in the second singles spot for the Rams. In three seasons with the Rams, Staley now boasts a 31-2 record in doubles play while also recording 21 wins in singles play.
Freshman Hubert Cromback (Paris, France) was named GNAC Rookie of the Year as he posted a perfect 10-0 record in singles play. Cromback posted 4-0 records in the number two position and number four position in singles play, and was also 9-1 in doubles play along with his partner, senior John Samander (Willemstad, Netherlands). Along with earning top honors for a first year player, Cromback was also selected to the GNAC's first team in singles.
Rounding out the All-Conference first team was sophomore Harlan Strader (Marblehead, Mass.). Strader posted a 9-1 record in singles play and also earned eight more wins in doubles play on the year. Strader filled in nicely during the season at the number one singles spot for the Rams as he was 4-0 in the top game, while he also won another three games playing in his regular three position.
Samander earned second team All-Conference honors for the Rams as the senior posted a perfect 9-0 record in singles play. Samander won 19 of 20 matches on the season in both singles and doubles play combined. Over the past two seasons Samander has won 22 matches in doubles play and is 19-1 in singles matches. Samander finishes his four year career with Suffolk a 30-3 record in singles play and a 35-4 record in doubles play.
Senior Justin Ayoub (Brooklyn, N.Y.) took home second team All-Conference honors in singles play and also earned GNAC All-Sportsmanship team honors, as well as earning the GNAC Tournament MVP. Ayoub finishes the season with a team high 11 wins in singles play as he appeared in all 13 contests for the Rams. Ayoub was also 6-1 on the season in doubles play. For the second season in a row, Ayoub earned All-Sportsmanship honors, which was selected by his coaches and teammates. Ayoub, who served as a captain for the Rams this season wraps up a four-year career in which he was a winner of 50 contests for the Rams, including a 38-10 record in singles play. Ayoub took home Tournament MVP honors this weekend as he collected four wins in the two match tournament that saw the Rams defeat Emerson College, 6-1 on Saturday for their third consecutive league title.