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 ninth straight year a Trinity player has earned the honor.
Colorado College's Anthony Weber and Trinity's Russell McMindes were selected as SCAC Men's Co-Coaches-of-the-Year, while Trinity's Matt Tyer took Newcomer of the Year honors.
Deuel, a senior from Bend, Oregon, earned his second SCAC Player of the Year honor (his first was in 2014) after a successful season. He made it to the quarterfinals of the ITA Small College Nationals in the fall and advanced to the ITA National Small College Championships where he played for seventh place. Deuel finished the regular season as the second-ranked individual in the West region. In the only national singles ranking this year, done on November 3, 2015, Deuel was ranked seventh. He has posted a 14-5 record in singles play this season, including 14-4 in the top line. Deuel has spent time at both No. 1 and 2 doubles this year, posting a 10-5 record in the No. 2 spot and a 7-2 record at the top line.
Deuel is the first SCAC player to win the award more than once since 2012 when fellow Trinity student-athlete Max Frey won it for his third time.
In the Player-of-the-Year voting, Deuel received six first-place votes while Niko Snovely of Southwestern received the remaining first-place vote. Deuel's selection marks the 19th time a Trinity student-athlete has been honored as SCAC Men's Tennis Player-of-the-Year.
Tyer, a sophomore from Hewitt, Texas, transferred to the Trinity squad after a year at Midwestern State University. In singles play this season, Tyer has posted a record of 8-11, but has had success in the No. 4 spot, where he is 6-5. During the fall season, Tyer teamed up with Adam Krull to compete at the ITA Small College National Championship, taking the Division III doubles title. The duo competed in the "Super Bowl" which included the doubles champions from Division II, NAIA and JUCO. Tyer and Krull were outlasted in a third set by the pair from Concordia (NY) College, the NCAA Division II champion. Through the season, Tyer has posted an overall record of 24-7 in doubles play.
This is the third consecutive Newcomer of the Year award for Trinity, with Deuel winning it in 2014 and Adam Krull winning it in 2015.
In the Newcomer-of-the-Year balloting, Tyer was selected as the top choice on four ballots. Daniel Holland of Colorado College received two votes for Newcomer-of-the-Year while Josh Granberry of Austin College received the remaining first-place vote.
In his seventh season at the helm, McMindes led the Trinity men's team to it's 21st SCAC tournament championship, posting a 5-0 win over Southwestern in the title match. The Tigers are 17-7 in NCAA Competition this year, including 15-5 againt Division III opponents. The Trinity men's tennis program now holds the most SCAC Championships of any program in conference history.
McMindes has earned at least a share of the Coach of the Year honor in six of his seven seasons leading the Tigers. The only year he did not win was in 2015, when Southwestern's Billy Porter earned the honor.
Weber, in his third season at the head of the men's tennis team, led the squad to a pair of upsets at the SCAC Championship tournament. The Tigers entered competition as the No. 5 seed, but defeated fourth-seeded Austin College in their first match, then took down third-seeded Schreiner University to finish in third place at the event. In the spring season, the group has gone 6-13, but they have held their own against Division III opponents, going 5-6.
This is the first time a Colorado College coach has earned this honor since joining the league in 2007.
Weber and McMindes each received two first-place votes in the Coach-of-the-Year balloting. Ryan Dodd of Austin College, Wade Morgan of Schreiner University and Billy Porter of Southwestern University each received one vote each from their peers.
To view the entire 2016 All-SCAC Men's Tennis release, click here.
