April 26, 2012
Greensboro, N.C. – Kevin King and Juan Spir were both named to the 2012 All-Atlantic Coast Conference men’s tennis team Thursday in a vote of the ACC head coaches and announced by the conference office.
King, a senior from Peachtree City, Ga., made the team for the third consecutive year, while Spir, a junior from Medellin, Colombia, was named for the second time.
Both named 2011 All-Americans and currently ranked No. 2 in the nation as a doubles team, King and Spir have compiled a 16-2 dual match record at No. 1 doubles this spring, including an 8-1 mark in ACC play. Together they have a 65-21 career record as a doubles team, and they reached the semifinals of the 2011 NCAA Championship.
“Kevin and Juan have done an incredible job of consistently being top performers in the ACC,” said head coach Kennt Thorne. “The players in the ACC are the best in the nation, so to be selected on the all-conference team means you have to be among the top in the nation. I believe at one time this year the ACC had 4 players ranked in the top 10 in the nation. Kevin deserves every award he gets in his senior year. He has been an incredible representative for Georgia Tech in his four years here. Juan did a good job of finishing his season strong, and I am glad he will be back with us again next year. Congratulations to them both. I look forward to watching them both compete for the last time together in college at the NCAAs later next month.”
King is currently No. 24 in the ITA rankings with a 27-9 singles record for the year, 5-8 vs. ranked opponents, and has been ranked as high as No. 7 this spring. He enjoyed a stellar fall in which he won the USTA/ITA Southeast Regional and advanced to the USTA/ITA National Indoor quarterfinals. King has a 13-6 spring record, all at No. 1, including a 5-4 ACC mark. His best victories include No. 18 Andreas Mies of Auburn and No. 34 Jamie Whiteford of William & Mary. The left-hander has a 79-40 career singles record, 26-15 in ACC matches.
Spir heated up late in the ACC season, winning four straight matches against ranked opponents, including No. 26 Chris Mengel of Duke on the road and No. 3 Jarmere Jenkins of Virginia at home, both in straight sets. The 6-4 junior has a 16-12 singles record this year, 13-8 in the spring and 6-5 in the ACC, and rose to No. 48 in the ITA rankings, matching the highest of his career.
ACC champion Virginia swept postseason honors. Jarmere Jenkins was selected as the ACC Player of the Year, while Mitchell Frank earned Freshman of the Year honors and Brian Boland was named ACC Coach of the Year for the fifth straight season and the sixth time overall.
Virginia becomes only the second men’s tennis team in ACC history – and the first since Miami in 2006 – to boast the conference’s Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year in the same season. Postseason honors, along with the 18-member 2012 All-ACC team, were selected by a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches.
Virginia led all schools with three student-athletes voted to the All-ACC team. Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina and Wake Forest each placed two players on the squad.
In addition to Jenkins, three-time All-ACC selections on this year’s team include King, Boston College’s Akash Muppidi, Duke’s Henrique Cunha, North Carolina’s Jose Hernandez, NC State’s Jaime Pulgar and Virginia Tech’s Luka Somen.
2012 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Tennis Team
Akash Muppidi, Senior, Boston College***
Yannick Maden, Junior, Clemson
Hernrique Cunha, Junior, Duke***
Chris Mengel, Sophomore, Duke
Jordan Kelly-Houston, Junior, Florida State
Kevin King, Senior, Georgia Tech***
Juan Spir, Junior, Georgia Tech**
Maros Horny, Senior, Maryland
Vlad Stefan, Freshman, Maryland
Brennan Boyajian, Senior, North Carolina**
Jose Hernandez, Junior, North Carolina***
Jaime Pulgar, Senior, NC State***
Alex Domijan, Sophomore , Virginia**
Mitchell Frank, Freshman, Virginia
Jarmere Jenkins, Junior, Virginia***
Luka Somen, Senior Virginia Tech***
David Hopkins, Senior, Wake Forest
Danny Kreyman, Junior, Wake Forest
ACC Player of the Year – Jarmere Jenkins, Virginia
ACC Freshman of the Year – Mitchell Frank, Virginia
ACC Coach of the Year – Brian Boland, Virginia
** – Repeat All-ACC Selection *** – Three-time honoree
