CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. – The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) wrapped up its two-day North Atlantic Conference (NAC) West Division* championships with individual tournament play Friday, which consisted of the top-four seeded student-athletes for first through sixth singles and first through third doubles.

Each flight saw the No. 1 seed take on the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed take on the No. 3 seed. The first-round winners advanced to the championship round, which produced six singles position champions and three doubles position champions, with those student-athletes also making up the All-Conference First Team.  The runners-up from those flights made up the All-Conference Second Team, while the All-Conference Third Team consisted of the winners of each flight from the consolation bracket.  All three All-Conference teams can be viewed on page 2 below.

The NEAC also announced its individual awards at the conclusion of the two-day tournament, which was held this Thursday and Friday at the Birchwood Tennis Club in Clarks Summit, Pa.

Penn State Berks freshman Drew Weinhold (Denver, Pa.) took home both the Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards after a sensational season for the Nittany Lions.  Weinhold was selected as the top rookie by the conference coaches after finishing the regular season with an overall combined record of 20-7 in singles and doubles play, including a perfect 6-0 mark at No. 1 singles in conference action, where he only dropped one set.  He ended the season on a nine-match winning streak in singles play and rolled through the individual playoff tournament as the top seed in first singles, winning both of his matches in straight sets to claim the Player of the Year award, which goes to the winner of the No. 1 singles flight during tournament play each year. 

Rutgers University-Camden head coach Lloyd Pearson was selected by his peers as the Coach of the Year after leading the Scarlet Raptor to an unblemished 6-0 record in conference play en route to the NAC West Division regular season and tournament championships.   Rutgers-Camden (11-6 Overall) defeated Penn State Abington 5-2 in the divisional championship match yesterday to capture the title.  A full tournament recap can be found here.

Pearson will now lead his squad to a matchup against the winner of this weekend’s NAC East Divisional Tournament (preview here) to determine the conference champion.  The two teams will meet on Sunday, May 5 at the Tri-City Tennis Club in Latham, N.Y., with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament, which will be held May 21-26 at Stowe Stadium in Kalamazoo, Mich.

All-Conference Team Selections

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The North Eastern Athletic Conference has thirteen NCAA Division III member institutions which include: Cazenovia College, College of St. Elizabeth, Gallaudet University, Keuka College, Lancaster Bible College, Pennsylvania State University - Abington, Pennsylvania State University - Berks, Pennsylvania State University -Harrisburg, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Institute of Technology, SUNY Morrisville State College, Wells College, and Wilson College.  Associate members are: Hilbert College (M Lacrosse), Medaille College (M&W Lacrosse) and Rutgers University - Camden (M Golf & M Tennis). 

*Beginning with the 2010 season, the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has partnered with the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) in the sport of men’s and women’s tennis.  The NEAC will compete as associate members of the NAC in men’s tennis, while the NAC will compete as associate members of the NEAC in women’s tennis.  Members from each conference will be divided into an East and West Division for each sport, with each division holding a championship and the two divisional champions then facing off to determine the conference champion. The conference winner for each sport will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships. 

A complete breakdown of the NEAC/NAC tennis partnership is as follows:

Men's Tennis: NEAC members Cazenovia, Keuka, Lancaster Bible, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Harrisburg and Rutgers-Camden will play as associate members of the NAC in a West Division.  The East Division will consist of NAC members Castleton, Colby-Sawyer, Green Mountain, Johnson State, Lyndon State, MCLA and Thomas.

Women's Tennis: NAC members Castleton, Colby-Sawyer, Johnson State, Lyndon State, MCLA and Thomas will play in the NEAC as associate members in the East Division.  The West Division will consist of NEAC members Cazenovia, College of St. Elizabeth, Keuka, Lancaster Bible, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Harrisburg and Wells.