ROCHESTER, NY - A pair of Hartwick standout freshmen were honored Wednesday as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2009 Men's Tennis postseason awards. Jeff Boyd (West Newbury, MA) was selected by the rest of the league's coaches as the 2009 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. He was also a second team pick. Freshman Marcelo Navarro (San Juan, Puerto Rico) joined Boyd on the second team and the pair also earned second team all-conference accolades as a doubles team. Junior Matt Whitty (St. Catherines, ON) was selected to the 2009 E8 Sportsman of the Year Team.
Boyd was the only freshman in the Empire 8 competing in first singles, going up against the conference's best players in every match. Despite the tall task, Boyd still managed a 3-5 record with wins over Alfred's Connor Houghton (6-4, 6-1), St. John Fisher's Matt Aquino (6-0, 6-0), and Utica's Khoa Vo (6-0, 6-0). Four of Boyd's five conference setbacks were to players selected to this season's E8 first team, including two-time defending Player of the Year Taylor Borda (Ithaca), last season's Rookie of the Year Gabe Cortez (Elmira), and ITA quarterfinalist Arik Zeevy (Stevens). He finished with eight singles victories overall winning three of his last four matches.
Navarro recorded Hartwick highest win total this season with 11 victories. He won eight of his first nine matches including six straight to begin the year. Navarro recorded a 4-4 mark in conference play. He started 3-1 beating his opponents from Alfred, Fisher and Nazareth, and closed out the Empire 8 regular season with another win over Utica. Navarro picked up win number 10 on the season over RPI and grabbed his 11th versus Union the following day prior to the E8 playoffs.
As a doubles team, Boyd and Navarro won their first four Empire 8 matches in the top flight. The duo had relative ease in wins over Alfred (8-2), RIT (8-4), and Fisher (8-2) before surviving a scare against Nazareth (9-8). Another win over Utica gave the tandem a 5-3 mark in conference play.
Whitty was 'Wick's representative on the E8 Sportsman of the Year Team as one member of each team within the conference is named that institution's representative. The Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. Whitty distinguished himself and consistently exhibited the critical traits as an outstanding sportsman.
The 2009 Hartwick men's tennis went 8-9 overall and 5-3 in the conference to qualify for the E8 semifinals for the first time in five years. The Hawks' eight victories this season ties for the most wins since the 1988 Hawks won 10 contests.
