Five Bulldogs Honored in Big South Conference Annual Awards

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – UNC Asheville's men's tennis team features five Bulldogs honored by the Big South Conference in the League's annual postseason awards, the conference announced this afternoon.

Henry Patten earned Singles First Team All-Conference honors in his first season with the Bulldogs. Patten is currently on a seven-match win-streak and boasts an overall record of 12-4, the best for the Bulldogs this year. Patten is 8-1 in flight two, 2-3 in flight three and 2-0 in flight four. Patten is also two-time BSC Freshman of the Week.

Senior Thomas Orestis-Panoulas and junior Josh Swindler were awarded Singles Second Team All-Conference honors. In his senior season, Panoulas has the second-best singles record for the Bulldogs, he is 10-4 overall, and 5-2 in BSC play with the majority of his matches being played in flight three. Swindler has played the majority of his matches in flight four, but has also spent time in flight three for Asheville, overall this year he is 10-5 in singles play and 6-2 in BSC matches.

In doubles play, Asheville had two pairs honored by the Big South. Seniors Alex Croker and Brett Landau earned the top honor of being a Doubles First Team All-Conference selection. Croker and Landau have played in the top spot for the Bulldogs in 2016, turning in an overall record of 9-6, and a Big South Conference record of 5-3. The pair are currently on a four match win-streak.

The duo of Henry Patten and Josh Swindler earned Doubles Second Team All-Conference honors with a perfect Big South Conference record of 8-0 in flight two. Patten and Swindler lead the Bulldogs in doubles play, with an overall record of 14-3 including a current ten-match win-streak.

Thomas Panoulas was one of nine players to earn a spot on the Big South Conference All-Academic team. The senior is a psychology major intended to graduate this May.

The Bulldogs are currently preparing for the Big South Conference Tournament beginning today with the first round match being played at 1:00 p.m. Asheville earned a No. 3 seed and a first round bye, pushing their tournament debut to Thursday, April 14 at 2:00 p.m. They will face the No.6 seeded Winthrop Eagles in the last of four quarterfinal matches.