LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - In exclusive voting by the head coaches in the league, Paxton Deuel of Trinity University has been selected the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Men's Tennis Player-of-the-Year – the seventh straight year a Trinity player has earned the honor. In that same balloting, Deuel was also named SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year and his coach, Russell McMindes, was voted Men's Coach-of-the-Year for the fifth straight year. Complete Release
Deuel, a sophomore from Bend, Ore., won the ITA Southwest
Regional in the fall and advanced to the ITA National Small College
Championships where he placed fifth. He has played #1 singles all
season and is currently ranked second in the West Region with a
15-6 overall mark. He also plays #1 doubles (with Nicolas Moreno)
and is currently ranked third in the West Region with a 16-10 mark.
The duo has won 11 straight matches.
In the Player-of-the-Year voting, Deuel received five first-place
votes while teammate Greg Haugen and Texas Lutheran University's
Gunner Robison received one vote each. Deuel's selection marks the
17th time a Trinity student-athlete has been honored as SCAC Men's
Tennis Player-of-the-Year.
In the Newcomer-of-the-Year balloting, which is being conducted
for the first time ever, Deuel was selected as the top choice on
four ballots. TLU's Robison received two votes for
Newcomer-of-the-Year while Niko Snovely of Southwestern University
received the remaining first-place vote.
For the fifth time in his career, Trinity's McMindes has been
recognized by his peers as the SCAC Men's Tennis Coach-of-the-Year.
McMindes' eighth-ranked Tigers earned the program's 19th SCAC title
after defeating Texas Lutheran, 5-0, in the 2014 SCAC championship
match. McMindes, in his fifth season as head coach, has compiled a
97-47 record at Trinity and guided the Tigers to four straight
appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament, and to the
quarterfinals for three of those trips (including 2013). Next
weekend at Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) College, the Trinity men will
be making their 21st NCAA Tournament appearance since 1993.
McMindes received three first-place votes in a tightly contested
Coach-of-the-Year balloting. Anthony Weber of Colorado College and Michael Hunt of
Texas Lutheran received two votes each from their peers.
To view the entire 2014 All-SCAC Men's Tennis release, click
here.
